


Wingman Watari

by SatyrSyd37



Series: Wingman Watari Universe [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aobajousai, Asexual Character, Canon Universe, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Making Out, Matchmaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:59:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5686633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SatyrSyd37/pseuds/SatyrSyd37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It begins as an accident. Watari never planned on setting up all the members of his volleyball team, but, for some reason, it turns out he's the perfect matchmaker.</p><p>(also known as the getting together stories of the ships listed in the tags)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. (Matsuhana) Watari Is Not Afraid of Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> _He may not be a wing-spiker, but he’s a hell of a wingman._  
>   
> 
> Each chapter is a different seijou ship getting together (with the help of Watari, of course). ~~Best read as a whole fic, but i guess each chapter can be independent if you're looking for a certain ship.~~ _there's now a cohesive plot...oops_
> 
> My explanation for this is I love getting together fics and also Watari. he is the perfect wingman i will fight you on this.

It begins as an accident. Watari never could have foreseen the consequences of his actions. Not that what he did had _bad_ consequences. It was just...unexpected.

The first time it happened was after practice, when they were prepping for the Spring Tournament. He and Yahaba were taking down the net, while Matsukawa complained to him about some fancy dinner he was expected to go to.

“But the suit’s not even the worst part,” Matsukawa said, squeezing the volleyball between his hands forcefully. “The worst part is my mom wants me to bring a date. I mean, I understand everyone in the family is bringing someone - I don’t even know how my rotten cousin managed to get a date, her face looks like a rotting potato - so everyone else will have a partner. But why do _I_ have to have one? I’m the youngest one, and I’m only in high school. It’s just one evening. I don’t understand why my mom thinks it's so important.”

“Have you tried telling her you don’t want to bring someone?” Yahaba asked.

“Of course I did. But my mother is deaf when it comes to anything I say.”

Yahaba sighed. “I understand that.”

Watari thought for a moment. “Well if you have to take someone...why not Hanamaki?” he suggested.

Matsukawa looked at him in confusion for a moment, as if Watari had proposed something absurd. But slowly, his face lit up. “Oh,” he mumbled, eyes wide. The volleyball he was holding dropped to the ground. _“Oh.”_

“Is that, um, a good oh?” Watari asked. “Or oh as in _oh no that’s horrible?_ ”

“That’s - that’s a good oh. Definitely a good oh,” Matsukawa said, suddenly turning away from the second years and surveying everyone left in the gym. “But, uh, I gotta go now…I just realized something really important,” Matsukawa muttered, almost to himself. Watari had no idea what Matsukawa had realized - it seemed pretty obvious to him that Matsukawa should ask his best friend to accompany him to the party instead of finding an actual date.

Matsukawa began to wander away as he absently told Watari, “Thanks man.”

“No problem, senpai!” Watari said.

They watched Matsukawa walk hurriedly up to Hanamaki and drag him outside. Yahaba walked up to his side and said, “I wonder what’s up with him.”

“I have no idea,” Watari said honestly. He just hoped that everything worked out for Matsukawa in the end.

 

Two weeks later, Watari found out things had worked out well. _Very_ well. Better than Watari could have ever expected.

Walking into practice that morning, Watari heard noises coming from the storage room. He was earlier than usual, and he was sure that he was the first to arrive, the only one here. At least, that's what he thought, until a groaning sound carried down the empty hallway.

 _Ghosts?_ A chill went down Watari’s spine. _Ghosts aren’t real,_ he tried to reassure himself. _Besides, ghosts only come out at night._

The low, creepy moans that sounded from under the door became louder. Watari gulped. _Not ghosts, not ghosts,_ he tried to tell himself. But the only thing he could do to waive his fear was prove to himself that there were no ghosts, and open the door.

Watari silently put his bag on the ground and tiptoed over the the door. Quietly leaning against the wall, he slowly cracked it open, and peeked through.

His eyes almost popped out of his skull when he saw not ghosts, but Matsukawa and Hanamaki wrapped around each other. Matsukawa’s arms wrapped possessively around Hanamaki’s waist as Hanamaki’s hands tangled eagerly through his hair. Their lips were pressed against each others, hungrily smashing their mouths together. It looked to Watari like they were eating each other’s faces off.

“Holy shit,” Watari said aloud, too shocked to notice the door swing all the way open.

Watari’s voice must have pulled them to their senses because suddenly the third years jumped apart and turned towards Watari.

Watari suddenly realized he had just intruded on something very private. _Shit,_ he thought, pretending not to notice the tents in both their shorts. “Ah, sorry about that!” he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. But neither of them seemed very bothered.

Matsukawa shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Hanamaki agreed.

“Sorry if we scarred you, though.”

“ _I’m_ not sorry.”

“You know, to tell you the truth, neither am I. You’re a damn good kisser.”

“Yeah, I know. A hell of a lot better than you are.”

“Hey man, that hurts.”

Watari just stood awkwardly, watching them bicker, not sure if this was his cue to leave, or if he should wait for them to finish.

“So...you guys are together?” he said interrupted nervously.

“Nah, I just like to stick my tongue down Matsun’s throat once in awhile,” Hanamaki said.

“It’s one of those best friend things, you know?” Matsukawa added.

After a year and a half being on the same team as them, Watari had learned to detect the duo’s sarcasm. He rolled his eyes and asked, “Um, how long?”

“How long what?” Hanamaki asked. “How long have we been in here? How long have we been best friends? How long is Matsun’s dick? Because I can tell you that now.”

“Makki, he’s still a child.”

Watari raised an eyebrow. “I’m only a year younger than you.”

“A _child_.”

Now that Watari thought about it, Matsukawa and Hanamaki _had_ seemed closer than usual lately. Though Watari hadn’t thought much of it, since they had always been close. Now, one was hardly seen without the other, and they were always brushing shoulders and leaning close to each other. Thinking back, Watari even remembered seeing them holding hands this week. The idea that they had actually gotten together had never crossed Watari’s mind before, but now that he knew, it seemed obvious.

“We’ve been together for, what, a week? Maybe two?” Hanamaki said, looking to Matsukawa for confirmation. “Ever since that night…”

“Actually, it’s all thanks to you,” Matsukawa said smugly, turning towards Watari. “Watari was the one who suggested I take you to the party.”

“Oh - thanks for that,” Hanamaki patted him on the shoulder. “That was a good call.”

“An _excellent_ call.”

“A booty call, technically.”

“I’m, um, gonna go now,” Watari said. He didn’t know how much more he could take of hearing about their sex lives. And he really didn’t want to know about it in the first place. “You’re welcome, I guess - I’m happy for you guys!” And he was. Beneath his happiness that they gotten together, Watari felt a little sense of pride for being the one to set them up.

“What, you don’t want to watch us make out more?” Hanamaki said with a smirk.

Watari rolled his eyes. “Not especially,” he said, stepping backwards.

“You sure? You were the one who walked in on _us_.”

Watari bit back a cringe and smiled. “It was an accident, sorry about that.”

Hanamaki shrugged. “If you say so.”

“We still have ten minutes before practice starts. If you need us, you know where to find us,” Matsukawa said with a wink.

Watari nodded with a strained grin and shut the door before the third years could get back to business.

As he changed into his workout clothes, Watari thought back to his first exchange with Matsukawa, and realized what Matsukawa had probably figured out when he had his realization. He grinned. Oikawa always boasted about being the perfect matchmaker, and Watari finally saw the appeal in successfully pairing people together. Knowing that he had been the one to set them up - even though he’d done it accidentally -  was very satisfying. That satisfaction allowed him to head to practice with optimism, erasing the sights that he’d just seen from memory. If there was anything he could take away from this morning’s events, it was that suspiciously closed doors should remained closed, and that ghosts weren’t the only ones who moaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (pst if you were wondering what happened at the party, [here you go](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7928344))


	2. (Kyouhaba) The Seductive Value of Socks and Wet Shirts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Watari realized that the dynamic between Matsun and Makki had been romantic, he started seeing the rest of his team in a whole different light. He’d always thought banter between his teammates had been friendly, but now, in some cases, they were...flirty? _Especially Yahaba and Kyoutani,_ Watari noted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh thank you for all the kind comments on the first chapter! it really made me happy to see that you guys liked this idea! i hope you enjoy this second part, featuring the oblivious second years of seijoh (and the brilliant watari.)
> 
> BTW: this takes place after the spring tournament is over, but i tried not to spoil anything, so don’t worry about that if you aren't that far in the manga yet ^_^

Watari didn’t think he’d be matching anyone else for a while, but fate had other ideas.

Barely a week after the Spring Tournament ended, Watari found his ‘skills’ in use again. At least, that’s what Yahaba called it when Watari told him about their upperclassmen.

“I still don’t get how you knew. What gave it away?” Yahaba had asked him.

“What do you mean?”

“How did you know they were in love?”

Watari shrugged. “I _didn’t_ know. Matsukawa said he needed a date, and I guess Hanamaki just seemed like the obvious choice. They’re best friends, and they get along really well. I didn’t even know they were gay! But now that I see it…”

“It’s crazy to think you hadn’t seen it before?” Yahaba finished.

Watari nodded. “You noticed too?”

Frankly, after Hanamaki and Matsukawa got together, Watari had started seeing the rest of his team in a whole different light. He noticed a lot of things he hadn’t noticed before, and not just about Hanamaki and Matsukawa. He’d always thought banter between his teammates had been friendly, but now, in some cases, it seemed...flirty? The way Kindaichi was always sucking up to Iwaizumi, the way Kyoutani looked at Yahaba. It was especially obvious between their captain and ace. Maybe he was just interpreting it wrong, and he was only seeing evidence of flirting because he was looking for it.

His curiosity got the better of him, though, so he asked Matsukawa and Hanamaki about it. “Hey, senpais!” Watari called to them one day when the third years came back to help with practice.

“Hey, matchmaker-kun,” Hanamaki said with a wave. Matsukawa nodded in his direction.

“How can we help you?”

Watari tried to figure out how to ask his question. “Before Matsukawa asked you out...were you always just friends? Did you have any idea he liked you in that way?”

“Ah, it was complicated,” Hanamaki said. “I thought what I was feeling for this turd was just platonic, friendship-y feelings.”

“It turns out those weren’t friendship feelings - those were gay feelings!” Matsukawa interrupted.

“My ass can confirm than,” Makki said with a proud smirk, which sent Matsun into a fit of giggles.

Watari cringed and said a quiet ‘thank you’ before leaving the two giggling third years. The amount of innuendoes the duo made was the one drawback to their newly found relationship.

Watari considered what the third years had told him. If a romantic relationship could be disguised as a platonic, friendly one, that meant infinite possibilities for his teammates. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt certain that Matsukawa and Hanamaki weren’t the only potential couple on Aoba Johsai’s volleyball team.

Watari tried to put thoughts of romance out of his head in order to concentrate on practice. Even though their season was over, there was still next year. And Watari knew he had a lot of work to do if they wanted to go to nationals next year.

He was pretty successful at avoiding that topic too, until Yahaba complained to him about Kyoutani. Again.

“You’re going to be captain next year -- you need to learn how to get along with him. Not to mention he’ll be the ace, and you’ll be his setter. You guys need to have a good dynamic.”

“I’ll never be able to get along with that bastard,” Yahaba asserted. It was kind of funny to see Yahaba so worked up. He was generally calm and collected, but whenever the subject of Kyoutani was brought up, he would lose his shit. And Watari had a sneaking suspicion that hate wasn’t the reason behind Yahaba’s attitude.

“You know, if you guys weren’t so busy trying to chew each other out, I think you’d make a great team.”

Yahaba snorted. “Did you actually just say that?”

Watari ignored him and went on. “Think about it: he makes up for the strength you don’t have -- ”

“Hey!”

“ -- and you make up for the game sense he doesn’t have. You’re both good players whose skills complement each other. Most importantly, you’re both passionate about supporting the team, and trying to win with all you’ve got. You’ll make a great team,” he reiterated.

Yahaba was silent, but Watari knew he was thinking over what he’d just said. But Watari wasn’t quite finished.

He couldn’t hide his grin when he added, “And I bet you’d make a great couple, too.”

“W-what?!” Yahaba sputtered, looking at him in disbelief. “Are you nuts? I know you think you’re some matchmaker now because of Matsun and Makki, but they are a _totally different_ case! They, they were friends! And Kyoutani and I...we...haven’t I told you enough times that I hate him?!”

Watari laughed at Yahaba’s dramatic response and thoughtfully put a finger to his chin. “Hm, but is it hate, or love?”

Yahaba stood up defiantly, his face turning bright red. “H-hate. Definitely hate. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Watari. You’re dead wrong.”

“If you say so,” Watari said playfully, not that he actually believed Yahaba. He’d sensed the hesitation in his voice. If he really did hate Kyoutani, there was no way Yahaba would have reacted with a blush like that.

 

 

Barely a week had passed when Yahaba came to him to complain again.

After a long practice, involving not one, but three arguments between Yahaba and Kyoutani, Yahaba approached Watari in the locker room, his head hanging low. “Watari...I think you might be right,” he admitted.

Watari smirked. “I know I’m right.”

“I think that’s why I keep arguing with him.”

“Probably.”

“I don’t know how to talk to him, but I _want_ to talk to him - for some crazy reason - so I just keep yelling at him.”

“Okay.”

“But that’s because he yells first! And he’s an annoying son of a bitch with no sense of sophistication.”

“Sophistication?”

Yahaba glared at him. “He has no filter. Have you not heard all the rude things he says?”

“You have a point.”

“He’s just a mad dog, like Oikawa says.”

“Hm. Do you really think that?”

“...no. He’s more like...a puppy.”

“I don’t quite see that, but okay.”

Yahaba groaned, defeated. “Why do I have to like him? He’s a jerk.”

“Uh-huh. A jerk you have a crush on.”

“A jerk who definitely doesn’t have a crush back on me,” Yahaba lamented, covering his face with his hands.

Watari almost rolled his eyes. How had Yahaba not noticed the stares Kyoutani always gave him? How he always stepped closer to Yahaba when they argued, or when they warmed up, or that he insisted on taking up most of Yahaba’s practice time spiking his tosses? Watari even hypothesized that the real reason Kyoutani’s face got so red when they argued wasn’t from the heat of the moment, but from being near Yahaba.

But Watari didn’t know how to say all of that to his friend. He thought it might be a bit overwhelming, anyway.

“Between you and me, I’ve seen Kyoutani staring at your ass,” he settled on saying.

Yahaba looked up, his face turning more and more pink as he realized what Watari had said. “You haven’t,” he muttered.

“I have.”

Yahaba sighed and buried his face in his hands again. “That should make me really mad,” Yahaba said, his words muffled.

“Uh-huh.”

“A month ago I would have been pissed.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But it’s not making me mad. Is that bad?”

“Well…”

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Hey, I don’t kinkshame,” Watari said, holding up his hands in an attempt to placate him. Yahaba slapped his arm.

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Dude, how could I interpret that any other way?” Watari said in his defense.

Yahaba rolled his eyes and grinned reluctantly.

“Even if he does like me - and I don’t know if I trust your judgment on that one -- ”

“Hey, if you don’t believe me, ask anyone else on the team. We have to put up with your flirting everyday; it’s kind of hard to ignore.”

Yahaba frowned at him, but went on speaking, “Even if he does like me, what am I supposed to do about it? I don’t want to just ask him out on a date -- after all the arguments we’ve had, it would be weird. And I can’t just suddenly start being nice to him…”

Watari thought for a moment. He’s already helped one couple hit it off, why not another? (Not to mention, he wouldn’t have to put up with Yahaba’s complaining anymore.)

Slowly, a plan formulated in his head. But he couldn’t let Yahaba in on it just yet. “I’m sure something will work out,” he said, patting Yahaba on the back.

Yahaba glared at him. “You say that like you know something I don’t.”

Watari pondered this before saying, “I know a lot of things that you don’t. Like how to have a civilized conversation with Kyoutani. Among other things.”

Yahaba stood up and frowned. “I’m leaving. I’m going to the bathroom, then changing and leaving your unloved ass here alone.”

Watari laughed. _Good,_ he thought, glancing at Yahaba’s gym bag as he left the locker room. _Now, I can set my plan in motion._

 

 

The next Monday, Watari made his move. Kyoutani usually left right after school, so Watari left his class as soon as they were let out to find the ace.

It wasn’t hard to spot the bleached blonde head among the others. Watari pushed past the crowd to catch up with him, and pulled him to the side, out of the way of the crowd.

“Hey, Kyoutani!” Watari said cautiously. Kyoutani looked at him with mild surprise on his face, which quickly morphed into a frown.

“What do you want?”

“Can you do me a favor?” he asked, deciding to get right to the point.

Kyoutani scowled. “What kind of favor?” he asked suspiciously. Watari didn’t blame him; hardly anyone on the team talked to him, even after their last match, except for Yahaba. And that was more yelling than talking. So Kyoutani probably thought Watari was up to something. Which, to be fair, he was.

Watari held out the pair of socks. “These are Yahaba’s,” he explained. Immediately, Kyoutani’s face softened. Watari bit back a smirk. “He left them at my house the other day, and I forgot to give them to him, but I’m busy the rest of the day, so I need you to take them to him for me.”

Kyoutani frowned and stared at the socks curiously. “Why didn’t you just give it to him during school?”

“...I forgot.” _Shit_. Watari hadn’t thought about that.

“Can’t you give them to him tomorrow?”

“...no. It’s urgent. He said he needed these socks immediately.” Watari knew his excuses were flimsy, but he prayed Kyoutani would buy them.

“They’re just socks.”

Watari shrugged. “You know Yahaba. He has strange habits.”

Kyoutani pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. “Why are you asking me?”

Watari smiled innocently. “It’s a chance to see him outside of practice, to learn where his house is, talk to him one-on-one, with no excuses to yell...and I think Yahaba would prefer to see your face over mine.”

Kyoutani’s eyes widened, and his cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink. With those hopeful brown eyes, Watari could kind of see what Yahaba had meant about his similarity to a puppy. “Fine,” he said, snatching the socks from Watari’s grip. “What’s his address.”

Watari smiled and told him, then wished him well as he sped away. As soon as he was out of sight, Watari pulled out his phone and sent a text.

**To Yahaba:**

_when he gets there, be a good host n invite him in_

**From Yahaba:**

_what the fuck does that mean?_

**To Yahaba:**

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**From Yahaba:**

_i know you’re planning something_

**To Yahaba:**

_u have no proof of that_

**From Yahaba:**

_i hate you_

 

The rest of the day, Watari waited patiently for Yahaba to reply. No matter how it went, Watari knew Yahaba would have something to say to him. And since Yahaba hadn’t texted back at this late hour yet, then Watari had hope that Yahaba had good things to say.

 

**From Yahaba:**

_why the HELL did you do that???_

**To Yahaba:**

_ahhh howd it go?_

**From Yahaba:**

_i asked if he stole my socks and he said no_

**From Yahaba:**

_then i asked if YOU sent him and he said yes_

**To Yahaba:**

_ahahaha!_

**From Yahaba:**

_youre a horrible friend_

**To Yahaba:**

_ah, but r u dating yet?_

**From Yahaba:**

_no ofc not!_

**To Yahaba:**

_D: D: D:_

**To Yahaba:**

_what happened???_

**From Yahaba:**

_i’m not telling you, you meddler_

**To Yahaba:**

_),:_

 

The next day at practice, Yahaba and Kyoutani were...different.

They only argued once, and the rest of the time, they talked in strained, polite voices, like they felt obligated to be nice to each other, even though they still harbored bad feelings. It was strange, but Watari saw it as improvement.

Apparently Watari wasn’t the only one watching the awkward duo. The third years noticed it as well.

“You know what? I see it,” Hanamaki said. “I don’t know how, but I do.”

“It’s probably the hate sex that you’re seeing,” Mastukawa clarified.

Hanamaki thought for a moment. “...yeah, yeah that’s what it is.”

“You know, Watari-chi,” Oikawa said to him. “They do make a good pair. I’ll give you that. But just because you’ve had one successful matchmaking experience doesn’t mean all the rest will go your way. Makki and Matsun were practically dating already -- ”

“We were? Why didn’t you tell me, Matsun?”

“ -- but these two hate each other’s guts. So it’s okay if it doesn’t work out! Don’t feel bad about it!”

Watari grinned, causing Oikawa’s charming smile to waiver. “They’ll get together. Just watch.”

 

 

Today. Today was the day that Watari would act again.

The weather was perfect -- the sun was shining, but a strong breeze made it slightly cool outside. Not that it mattered much, since they were all crowded in the air conditioned gymnasium. Watari sat on the edge of a bench, next to where Kyoutani stood. They were taking a break from practice, and Yahaba was just getting back from refilling his water, the cap still off his bottle.

 _Perfect,_ Watari thought.

“Yahaba!” he called, waving his friend over. Yahaba made his way towards them, eyeing Kyoutani as he did.

Right as Yahaba walked past him, Watari stuck out his leg.

“Shit -- !” Yahaba tripped ungracefully, his water splashing all over Kyoutani’s shirt as he crashed into him, face-first into Kyoutani’s chest.

Everyone in the gym stopped. Heads turned, sickly fascinated to see what would happen next.

Kyoutani pulled Yahaba off his chest, as delicately if he were holding a puppy. Yahaba’s face was bright red, and his eyes were wide with fright. He may have had arguments with Kyoutani before, had even slammed him up against the wall, but even he feared the consequences of completely soaking their new ace with water.

For a moment, they stared at each other, Kyoutani still holding on to Yahaba’s forearms, their faces less than a foot apart. Kyoutani looked confused, as if he couldn’t decide whether he was infuriated or endeared. Yahaba’s expression slowly changed from fear to something akin to want. Watari felt like he was prying, like he was looking in on something extremely private.

It wasn’t until Kyoutani noticed everyone’s stares that he abruptly let go of Yahaba, like his arms were made of fire. “...w-watch your step,” Kyoutani muttered, turning his head to the side to hide his newly pink cheeks.  

“S-sorry,” Yahaba said, straightening himself and hastily putting down the empty bottle. “I -- I didn’t mean to -- ”

“I know,” Kyoutani interrupted. “It wasn’t on purpose. Even you aren’t stupid enough to do that.”

Yahaba’s look of embarrassment left as quickly as if it had never been there at all. He curled his lip in distaste, ready to protest.

“Why don’t you lend him your extra shirt, Yahaba?” Watari cut it, wanting to conserve the moment before those two idiots ruined it.

They both turned and looked at him like he had just suggested something absurd.

“That’s a good idea,” Oikawa agreed. “You always carry an extra one, right, Yahaba-chan~?”

Yahaba glared at him with murder in his eyes. “Yes,” he hissed.

“I can’t have my kouhais working out in wet clothes! It’s unhealthy!” Oikawa said.

“...hypocrite,” Watari heard Iwaizumi mutter under his breath.

“I have to agree with Oikawa here,” Matsukawa said.

Hanamaki nodded. “Believe it or not, I do too.”

Watari casually pushed Yahaba closer to Kyoutani, saying, “Gotta listen to your former captain. You should go get your shirt for him.”

Yahaba looked like he was about to protest, but upon seeing how calm Kyoutani was -- he had a peaceful, almost thoughtful look on his face as he regarded Yahaba -- the setter complied, and stormed off to the locker room with his nose in the air.

Kyoutani looked like he was debating on whether to follow or not. It was only when Iwaizumi nodded at Kyoutani and waved his hand in a “go on, shoo” gesture that Kyoutani followed Yahaba into the locker room.

Watari grinned. _Success,_ he thought to himself.

 

Ten minutes later the pair returned, Kyoutani wearing a sky blue t-shirt that didn’t look like it his style at all, but strangely suited him.

Yahaba walked passed Watari, obviously trying to avoid looking at Kyoutani at all.

“He looks pretty good in your shirt, don’t you think?” Watari teased him.

Yahaba scowled. “I hate you.”

“Nah, you love me.”

 

 

The next day was Sunday, and that was when the _real_ part of plan took charge. When one has borrowed an item of clothing, one must return that item of clothing to it’s owner. Obviously something had changed when Kyoutani went to Yahaba’s house last time, and Watari had been determined to recreate those circumstances. Which is why he tripped Yahaba on a Saturday, so Kyoutani would either have to wait until Monday to return Yahaba’s shirt at school, or return it as soon as possible to his house on Sunday, today.

Watari had his hopes set on the latter. And he was pretty confident Kyoutani would follow through.

A text alert that afternoon told him his prediction was correct.

 

**From Yahaba:**

_this is all your fault_

**To Yahaba:**

_whats my fault :)_

**From Yahaba:**

_he came over to give me back my shirt_

**To Yahaba:**

_what a gentleman_

**From Yahaba:**

_watari what do i do_

**To Yahaba:**

_talk 2 him_

**From Yahaba:**

_i talked to him but then i panicked_

**From Yahaba:**

_NOW HE’S TALKING TO MY MOTHER WHILE I TEXT YOU FROM THE BATHROOM_

**To Yahaba:**

_:D get back out there and flirt_

**To Yahaba:**

_seduce him with ur annoying perfect hair_

 

Watari had to wait several hours for a response. But Watari was a patient man, and the longer he had to wait, the better things must be going. He could only stare at his phone, and hope that one of them had to balls to admit their real feelings.

 

**From Yahaba:**

_he’s gone now_

**To Yahaba:**

_TELL ME_

**From Yahaba:**

_i don’t think you deserve to know after all you put me through_

**To Yahaba:**

_thats cruel man :(_

**To Yahaba:**

_i must kno if my matchmaking succeeded_

**From Yahaba:**

_...i walked him home_

**To Yahaba:**

_go on_

**From Yahaba:**

_he kissed me on his doorstep_

**To Yahaba:**

_VICTORY :D :D_

 

Watari let out a silent “whoop!” of triumph, elated that his plan had worked out. All Matsukawa and Hanamaki had needed to spur their relationship was a little enlightenment. Watari reasoned that what Kyoutani and Yahaba needed was more time together outside of practice, to learn that they could get along and enjoy each other's company. It turned out he was right.

 

**From Yahaba:**

_i don’t know whether to thank you or punch you_

**To Yahaba:**

_thank me pls_

**From Yahaba:**

_fine. thank you_

**To Yahaba:**

_no prob bro. always happy 2 help a bro out_

**From Yahaba:**

_do you know the weirdest part?_

**To Yahaba:**

_u didnt get 2gether sooner?_

**From Yahaba:**

_he said he liked my hair_

**To Yahaba:**

_CALLED IT_

 

The next day at practice, Kyoutani and Yahaba hardly argued at all. The rest of the team stared at them in awe, wondering what miracle had occurred, but Watari knew what had happened. But he kept this information to himself, allowing the team to work it out on their own.

It wasn’t that hard to work out when, after a particularly good combo, Yahaba hopped over to Kyoutani and, after a moment of hesitation, kissed him on the check. Kyoutani’s face, from his nose to the tips of his ears, turned bright red. The rest of the team only stopped and stared for a moment, before simultaneously having an epiphany.

“I knew they didn’t hate each other,” Watari heard Kunimi mutter to Kindaichi, who was the only one still staring, shocked, at the second year couple. “Their arguments had too much sexual tension for just plain hate.”

“Really?” Kindaichi responded. “I didn’t notice at _all_.”

“It was hard to miss,” Watari put in.

“You noticed it too?” Kindaichi asked in disbelief, finally tearing his eyes away from Kyoutani and Yahaba.

Watari nodded. “I’m the one who set them up,” he proclaimed proudly.

“Wow,” Kindaichi said in admiration.

Kunimi gave him a thumbs up. “Maybe they’ll stop bickering now…” Kunimi mumbled.

That was Watari’s hope as well. And while the arguments did become less common and less dramatic, they still bickered. A lot.

And if Watari had thought that Yahaba’s complaints about Kyoutani were bad before, this was definitely worse. For one, because he didn’t _stop_ complaining. Yahaba always found something about Kyoutani to be annoyed with. But now, Yahaba had that gross, sappy look whenever he talked about Kyoutani. And -- even when they argued -- he never shut up about how cute he was.

(At least, he thought hopefully, they didn’t talk so freely about their sex lives as a certain third year couple. He didn’t want to know what happened in the bedroom between them or anyone else -- just matching up couples was enough for him.)

Success number two. Watari couldn’t help but feel proud. Trying to get Kyoutani and Yahaba together had been a lot more difficult than he expected, but in the end, they made it happen, and Watari was happy for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! i'd like to get the next chapter up by next weekend, but i have finals so no guarantees. (in fact i should probably be studying for those right now hahaha...) 
> 
> next up: kindaichi and kunimi battle the feels
> 
> (ps i was also thinking about writing this from yahaba's pov? then you get to know everything that watari didn't...would you guys be interested in reading something like that?)


	3. (KinKuni) Angsty First Years and the Heart Shaped Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Congratulations, Iwaizumi-san,” Watari said loudly. “It’s nice to get chocolates on Valentine’s day.”
> 
> Iwaizumi snapped up, his gaze finally leaving the box and meeting Watari’s. “Oh - yeah - thanks…” he said, running his thumb slowly over the box. “I wonder who it’s from…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well fuck me sideways: kindaichi and kunimi are hard to write. 
> 
> seriously these fuckers gave me so much trouble. but here - have this long chapter to make up for the time it took me to write it. this chapter is very dialogue heavy and i don’t like it but i hope _you_ do. 
> 
> (p.s. did you guys see the new episode, because my son Watari had like THREE ENTIRE LINES OF DIALOGUE. im so proud.)

Even though the Spring High tournament had ended, the team kept practicing. With the last few months of school, the coach wanted them to work on skills they struggled with last season and build up strength for next season.

Occasionally, the third years joined their practice. Even though exam season was upon them, all of the third year still found time to join the first and second years. They came enough that the coach even let them keep their old lockers.

At first, Watari thought it was just Oikawa forcing the others to come along, not wanting to be the only third year at practice. But sometimes, they’d come without Oikawa. Knowing that any of the four could have easily found another team to practice with – they could learn a lot more from the local college teams than from their high school one – Watari found their frequent appearances a little strange. Not that he minded them coming, of course.

Gradually, Watari realized that they didn’t just miss playing volleyball – they missed playing with _this_ team. Under Oikawa’s leadership, Watari felt that they’d had a strong connection, a kind of camaraderie he’d never felt with a team before. They weren’t the perfectly polished machine Oikawa wanted, but months practicing and playing together had created a strong bond between all of them, especially the first string players. Watari was afraid to lose that bond, and he guessed that the third years were, too. In just a few months, the third years would be gone for good, with no more chances to play on a team together ever again.

 _At least I have one more year,_ Watari thought. _But after that, I’ll be gone too._

Watari tried to shake those thoughts from his mind. He wouldn’t think about the future, but instead enjoy the present, while they still had time left to practice together. He resolved to enjoy every last moment playing with the third years before they were gone for good.

 

On Valentine’s Day, even though afternoon practice was cancelled for the happy couples to take advantage of (Watari suspected Yahaba had convinced the coach to let them off today), Yahaba still insisted on conducting morning practice. And for some reason Watari couldn’t understand, the third years showed up to join them.

Practice went as usual, up until they were back in the locker room, changing into their school uniforms. Watari was buttoning his pants when a commotion of voices caught his attention.

“Ooo, Iwaizui, what have you got there?”

“Looks like you’ve got an admirer.”

“Who’s it from?”

“What kind of chocolates are those?”

“Can I have one?”

Watari looked up to see Iwaizumi holding a red, heart-shaped box he’d pulled out of his locker. He stared at it blanking, his expression unreadable, not saying a word. Hanamaki and Matsukawa flanked his sides, pestering him about the box of chocolates, while the rest of the team quietly watched, waiting to see Iwaizumi’s reaction. Kindaichi looked especially bothered, even as he continued to pretend to be preoccupied with his belongings.

Watari picked up his school bag and trotted over to Iwaizumi, who still clutched the little red box in confusion. “Congratulations, Iwaizumi-san,” Watari said loudly. “It’s nice to get chocolates on Valentine’s Day.”

Iwaizumi snapped up, tearing his gaze away from the box. He cheeks were the lightest shade of pink. “Oh – yeah – thanks…” He ran his thumbs across the top of the box, mumbling, “I wonder who it’s from…”

“Well maybe you could try, I don’t know, opening it?” Hanamaki suggested sarcastically.

Iwaizumi elbowed his side, but opened the box all the same. He squinted at inside cover, and read aloud, “'From…your secret admirer.'”

Everyone looked at Iwaizumi, waiting for him to finish. “That’s all there is,” he said, placing the cover back on the box.

Suddenly Kindaichi exclaimed, “I – I have to go. I’m g-going to be late!” He shot out of the room before anyone could ask him what he was even late for.

“Well that was suspicious,” Hanamaki muttered. Watari agreed. Everyone knew that Kindaichi favored Iwaizumi, and maybe, Watari thought, he’d finally gotten the guts to do something about it. Iwaizumi turned around, shoving the box into his bag. He didn’t say it, but Watari knew he was thinking it too.

Watari didn’t know it if was actually a good thing that Kindaichi had finally done something about it crush. Everyone who knew about Kindaichi’s crush also knew that his crush wasn’t reciprocated, and probably never would be. A certain setter would make sure of that.

Watari looked around for said setter, but Oikawa was nowhere in sight. Watari didn’t even know if he’d been watching when Iwaizumi found the red box.

 _Must be jealous,_ Watari thought.

Yahaba and Kyoutani joined the ring around Iwaizumi and his box of chocolates. “Who could it be?” Yahaba wondered aloud.

“Iwaizumi, do you know who it is?” Matsukawa asked.

“I didn’t think Iwaizumi-senpai knew any girls,” Kunimi said resentfully.

Iwaizumi furrowed his brows. “I’m not that friendly with any girls…” he said absentmindedly.

“Maybe it was Watari,” Matsukawa suggested.

Watari snorted. “Me?”

“You think it was Watari?” Kyoutani asked incredulously.

“ _No._ Not like that. I mean, maybe be was working some of his love-magic.”

They all eagerly turned towards him, expecting him to have an answer to the question they all had on their minds. Watari shrugged. “My guess is as good as yours.” Which wasn’t completely a lie. He knew they were all thinking the same thing; that Iwaizumi’s secret admirer wasn’t so secret.

“Actually, I think your guess would be pretty good,” Yahaba said. “You’ve already guessed right about two couples…”

“Yeah,” Hanamaki agreed. “I always thought that it would be Oikawa with the best matchmaking skills, but Watari, my man, you’ve proved me wrong.”

Oikawa, seemingly materializing from nowhere, suddenly appeared by Watari’s shoulder, shouting, “Hey! Makki, I’m a love _guru_! Watacchi can’t even _compare_ to my skills – no offense, Watacchi.”

“Non-taken.”

Hanamaki scoffed. “Do you really want to take a tally?”

“Watari two, Oikawa – zero,” Matsukawa finished.

“Mean! You guys are mean!” Oikawa pouted.

At this point, Iwaizumi finally came to his senses. Maybe seeing Oikawa made him forget about the mysterious chocolates. He slapped Oikawa heartily on his shoulder, knocking a squeal out of him. “Don’t worry about him,” Iwaizumi told Watari. “He’s just jealous.”

“Am not!” Oikawa whined, rubbing the spot Iwaizumi had hit him.

“Yeah, you are. I know you wanted to be the one to mess with their lives.”

“Iwa-chan, I would never do that to my teammates!”

“You would and you _have_.”

Watari laughed and stealthily walked away, attempting to avoid whatever was about to ensue between his former captain and ace.

The rest of the team followed his lead, and started packing up their things and leaving Iwaizumi, his heart-shaped box, and their questions for another day. No one wanted to ask Iwaizumi about his secret admirer while Oikawa was around. They all knew how possessive Oikawa was of Iwaizumi. But Watari didn’t know if the others knew the reason for his possessiveness - it was obvious enough to Watari that their former captain was in love with their former ace. And Watari had thought that love was reciprocated - which is why he was surprised at Iwaizumi’s reaction to the chocolates. Watari couldn’t read Iwaizumi’s blank stare, he couldn’t tell if Iwaizumi felt happy upon seeing the red box, or embarrassed, or confused. All Watari knew was Iwaizumi was as surprised as the rest of them.

Now that Watari thought about it – guessing with near certainty who Iwaizumi’s secret admirer really was – it wasn’t so surprising after all.

 

Exactly one week later, talk of Iwaizumi’s chocolates died down. No one was able to get anything out of Iwaizumi, and no one stepped forth to reveal themselves as the secret admirer. Ironically, it was then that Watari’s suspicions were confirmed.

After practice that day, Kindaichi walked up to him, twiddling his fingers.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked.

Watari nodded. “Sure. What’s up?”

“...outside?” Kindaichi elaborated.

“Ah.” Watari, realizing what this must be about, began walking out of the gym, signaling Kindaichi to follow him. They walked behind the school, and once they were alone, Kindaichi started speaking.

“I’ve been thinking about your reputation as a matchmaker…”

Watari had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“And I was wondering if you can help me?” Kindaichi asked hopefully.

 _Oh dear._ He thought back to the red box of chocolates. He knew what Kindaichi was going to ask, and he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to help him.

“It’s about Iwaizumi. I’ve kinda liked him for a while...ah, actually, I’ve liked him for a long time, but, but I’ve never been able to find the words to tell him - tell him how I feel.”

 _Sounds like a secret admirer to me._ It was just as Watari had thought – Kindaichi must have been the one to leave the chocolates. And now he was to scared to tell Iwaizumi it was him. No wonder Kindaichi had acted so nervous when everyone was asking Iwaizumi about the little red box.

Kindaichi continued. “I was wondering if, since you helped Matsukawa and Yahaba and everyone, if you could help me, too?”

So far, Watari’s matchmaking career had a 100% success rate. Everything had worked out for everyone in the end. But this...Watari knew this wouldn’t end well. He decided that maybe matchmaking wasn’t so fun. Hearing Kindaichi open himself up to him, laying his feelings - which he’d obviously struggled with - on the table, asking him for help, should have made him feel good. He should have been glad that Kindaichi trusted him enough to tell him this, that Kindaichi had enough confidence in Watari's abilities to come to him for help. But that was just it - Watari knew he _couldn’t_ help. He knew that he couldn’t fulfill Kindaichi’s wish, he couldn't help him, and that made him frustrated and angry and sad.

Unsure of where to begin, unsure how to tell the first year that he couldn’t help, he simply said, “Kindaichi...I think he's already spoken for.”

Kindaichi hung his head.

Watari thought about the chocolates, and how no one had claimed to have left them. And how quickly Iwaizumi lost fascination with finding his secret admirer. “You already knew, didn't you?”

“A part of me did...but the hopeful part got the better of me,” he said with a strained smile. “But I was thinking...you’ve been able to help the others, so maybe if you intervened - ”

“That only worked because they both already liked each other. I knew they liked each other. But Iwaizumi...I think his heart’s already been stolen.”

“I know,” Kindaichi said, his eyes welling up with tears. “Oikawa-san’s not going to give up his possessions that easily, is he?”

Watari frowned at the resentment in Kindaichi’s voice. But he knew the first year was right about Oikawa, even if he had phrased it in a rather negative way.

“I-It’s okay,” Kindaichi said. “I could never compete against Oikawa-senpai, he’s too perfect. He’s handsome and tall but not lanky like me, and he’s confident, and smart, and it’s no wonder Iwaizumi-san likes him - ”

“Kindaichi, don’t say that,” Watari interrupted. Watari hated how distraught Kindaichi sounded. “That’s not why Iwaizumi likes him. You’re just as good as Oikawa, okay? And Oikawa would hit you if he heard you saying that. I think the real reason Iwaizumi and Oikawa love each other is because they’ve known each other since childhood. They’ve always gone to the same school and played on the same team. You just can’t make up for all those years together…”

That was when Watari had an idea. _Someone who he's known for a long time, who he's played on the same team with._ Something to make Kindaichi’s situation a little more bearable. And it would involve, again, his matchmaking skills.

But with Kindaichi leaking tears in front of him now, his plan would have to wait.

“C’mon - I know this new place that you’ll love. They serve the best grilled corn in town. Let’s get something to eat. On me.”

“Are you sure…?”

“Of course - now, let’s go!” _And take your mind off of Iwaizumi,_ he thought to himself. _For good._

 

During the next week, Kindaichi didn’t act much different. But he did miss more receives and fumble more spikes than usual. And Watari caught him frowning more often than not. Watari was pretty sure Kindaichi was avoiding him as well.

It wasn’t only Kindaichi who was avoiding him either: Kunimi didn’t speak a word to him all week. All he got were mildly irritated glares and eye rolls. Watari wasn’t sure if Kindaichi had told him what happened, or Kunimi had picked up on Kindaichi’s mood, but Kunimi avoided practicing with him all week. It was almost amusing how in sync the two first years were.

As it was, Watari couldn’t help but feel guilty. The rational part of him reminded himself that refusing to help Kindaichi had been the right thing to do. But another part of him that empathized with Kindaichi felt guilty for not being able to help him. Watari was suppose to be the reliable libero, who got along with everyone and helped his teammates through tough times. And right now, he was failing his role.

“Kunimi’s acting weird,” Yahaba told him one day during practice.

Watari nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I don’t know what his problem is…”

Yahaba raised an eyebrow. “I think you _do_ know. You’re the one he’s been sending all the dirty looks to.”

“You noticed?” Watari said with a grimace.

“It’s my job to make sure the team gets along now. And he’s definitely not getting along with you.”

Watari sighed. “No kidding.”

“Go talk to him,” Yahaba said. “I asked him to wait around a while after he gets changed. But you better hurry, or else he’ll get impatient and leave.”

“Yes, Captain,” Watari said with a sarcastic salute.

Yahaba rolled his eyes. “Sycophant.”

Before he could leave, Yahaba told him one last thing. “Hey. I don’t know what this is about...but whatever you did must have really pissed him off. He’s too lazy to get mad about anything that’s not extremely important to him.”

Watari had thought about that too. “I know.”

“So be careful.”

“I will.”

 

After he changed, Watari found Kunimi standing outside with a bored expression on his face, just like Yahaba said.

“Hey Kunimi…” Watari said cautiously as he walked up to him.

Kunimi tried to keep a neutral face as he turned to the sound of Watari’s voice, but Watari didn’t miss his nose scrunching - just barely - in disgust. “So that’s what Yahaba wanted…” he mumbled.

“Um, I’m not really sure how to start,” Watari said, scratching his head. “So I guess I’ll just ask outright. Did I do something to offend you?”

“No,” Kunimi said. “Not me.”

 _He's going to make this difficult,_ Watari realized. He bit back a sigh. _Better get straight to the point._ “Is this about Kindaichi?”

“It might be. Can I go now?”

“No,” Watari said. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

Kunimi looked at him for a moment, waiting to see if Watari would give up if he didn’t say anything. When he realized Watari was serious, he said, “He’s been acting upset ever since he talked to you. You did something to upset him.”

Watari thought the vague terms Kunimi was speaking in were strange. “Did he tell you what happened?”

“...maybe.”

That explained it. Watari figured he should just tell Kunimi the whole story – since Watari planned to involve him at some point anyway. Plus, Kunimi probably wouldn’t get off his back until he figured out that he had no reason to be mad a Watari.

“Kindaichi asked me to help him with, you know, his crush? And I said I couldn’t...I told him it would be better if he could. Um. Get over it.”

Kunimi suddenly loosened up. Watari didn’t even realize he’d been tense until now. “Oh. That’s...not what I thought.”

“Wait - what _did_ you think?”

Kunimi shrugged. “You don’t need to know.”

That just made Watari want to know even _more_ \- what bad thing had Kunimi thought about him, his nice, friendly, reliable senpai? - but he didn’t press the matter.

“It was probably good that you told him no,” Kunimi said after an awkward pause.

Watari was almost surprised. It almost sounded like he was apologizing. Almost. “Yeah...I told him Iwaizumi’s already been claimed.”

Kunimi snorted. “He knows that. Very well. But...it’s good he heard it from someone else.”

Watari, sensing an opening, said, “That wasn’t the only reason I didn’t agree to help him. I think he’s better off finding love in another place.”

Kunimi raised his eyebrow.

He glared at Kunimi pointedly. “I think Kindaichi has been claimed, just like Iwaizumi.”

Kunimi narrowed his eyes but kept his voice steady. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Watari gulped. _Here it goes_. “Because you like Kindaichi.”

Kunimi’s entire body tensed. Watari could tell he was clenching his teeth, even though he was trying to keep a neutral face. “No I don’t,” he muttered before turning around and speeding in the other direction.

“Hey - wait!”

“No!” Kunimi called, walking faster.

Watari had to jog to catch up with him. “Hear me out at least!” he pleaded. Kunimi kept walking fast, without looking back at him, but Watari was persistent. He stayed jogging by his side to meet the wing spiker’s fast pace. _Curse my short legs._

He said, between huffs of breath, “I just think that maybe - if Kindaichi has someone else - it’ll be easier for him to get over Iwaizumi!”

“You’re wrong,” Kunimi said plainly. “Just because you told him to get over him doesn’t mean his crush will disappear overnight. I thought you knew this stuff, matchmaker.”

“But I think if - ”

Kunimi stopped and spun around, his brows slightly furrowed. Watari had only ever seen him look this mad when talking about Karasuno’s Kageyama. “Look. If I did like Kindaichi like that - and I don’t -  I’d never date him. He’s still obsessed with Iwaizumi.” The image of a red-heart shaped both flashed across his thoughts. Watari knew Kunimi was thinking of the same thing. “That’s not going to go away if I date him. I’d never date someone who’s in love with someone else.”

It was most he’d ever heard Kunimi say at once. Watari was so stunned by Kunimi’s emotional display that he didn’t go after Kunimi when he stormed away after his outburst.

Watari sat down on the sidewalk. He took a long, deep breath and leaned his head back, looking up at the sky.

 _That did not go well,_ he thought.

There was no way he could have known Kunimi would react like that, but Watari still felt he _should_ have known it. Because now, everything was messed up. Kindaichi was making himself miserable trying to get over Iwaizumi, but Kunimi thought Kindaichi would never move on. And it was all Watari’s fault.

Yahaba would be pissed when he found out.

Just then, his phone buzzed: a text from Yahaba. _Speak of the devil._

**From Yahaba:**

_how’d it go?_

**To Yahaba:**

_i think i made it worse D:_

**From Yahaba:**

_what happened???_

 

What happened? Oikawa had been right. He was in over his head. He had interfered when he had no right to, and he didn’t know how to fix it.

 

**To Yahaba:**

_i fucked up_

 

The next day, Watari’s lunch period was graced with the presence of the one and only Oikawa Tooru.

“Watachi~!” Oikawa exclaimed, sliding into the second year classroom and over to Watari. “How’s my libero doing today?”

Watari smiled, noticing all the giggling girls eyeing the third year in awe, and the boys in jealousy. “Hey Oikawa.”

Oikawa sat down in the seat next to him, crossing his legs and continuing to smile. “That looks like a tasty lunch.”

“It is. My mom makes the best boiled eggs. Want to try some?”

“Ah, you’re as kind as always Watachi, but no thanks. How’s the team doing?”

“They’re...all right.”

“Just alright?”

Watari shrugged.

“Let’s take a walk, Watachi.”

Watari oblidged, regretfully leaving his lunch to ‘take a walk’ with Oikawa. He knew it wasn’t just Oikawa being friendly, socializing with his former teammate. The setter had a glint of mischief in his eyes, meaning he had a goal and a means to achieve it. Remembering what had transpired yesterday, Watari could guess what that goal was.

As soon as they were alone, he said, “Yahaba put you up to this, didn’t he?”

Oikawa shrugged, acknowledging that Watari saw through his façade. “Perhaps. But the important thing is that I care about my teammates and I’m worried that some of the first years aren’t getting along with you. I’m surprised, Watacchi! Kyouken-chan I could understand, but I thought you were a very nice person!”

“I _am_ a nice person,” Watari protested.

“I think Kunimi would say otherwise.”

Watari sighed. There was no point in avoiding the subject any longer. “If you don’t mind listening, I can tell you the whole story.”

As Watari told Oikawa what had happened over the past weeks, he saw Oikawa’s pleasantly neutral face turn sour. Watari didn’t blame him, he knew Oikawa would be jealous of Kindaichi: Oikawa hadn’t even been able to stay in the room when Iwaizumi found the box of chocolates. By the end of Watari’s story, though, Oikawa had regained his composure as if he’d never lost it in the first place.

“Ah, I told you matchmaking was hard, didn’t I?”

Oikawa was right after all. But that didn’t mean Watari was going to dignify Oikawa’s ‘I told you so’ with a response.

“I just want to fix it,” he chose to say.

“Well, you came to the right person to help you do that!” Oikawa sang.

Watari rolled his eyes. _You’re the one that came to me, actually_. Truly, though, he was grateful for Oikawa’s help. No one knew the team better than Oikawa did, and he cared about them as fiercely as a mother bear does her cubs. If anyone could help him navigate this mess, it was Oikawa.

Though there was one drawback to involving Oikawa. The setter was a wild card when it came to anything involving Iwaizumi. Knowing that Iwaizumi was the object of Kindaichi’s affection couldn’t be good. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea after all…

“First, we need to give Kindaichi-chan some advice!”

_Too late now._

“Advice?”

“For getting over Iwa-chan of course! That’s the most important thing…” Oikawa trailed off, his grin waiving the slightest bit. _In your mind, it would be._ But, even if Oikawa’s focus was, as Watari suspected, centered more towards his own goals, he wasn’t wrong. There was no way Kindaichi and Kunimi could ever be together if Kindaichi couldn’t first get over Iwaizumi.

“Okay. That’s a good start,” Watari admitted. He was suddenly very glad for Oikawa’s help. If anything, having the reliable former captain on his side made him feel more at ease.

“I’m glad that’s settled,” Oikawa said. He clapped his hands together. “Let’s take him out to dinner.”

 

And that was how they ended up at the restaurant he’d taken Kindaichi to the week before, sitting across from the first year. Watari couldn’t tell if he was irritated or terrified. Perhaps both. 

When Oikawa had first suggested talking with Kindaichi, Watari had thought it was a good idea. But the more he thought about it, the more he became worried about him having to face Oikawa. Kindaichi knew Oikawa was the reason Watari refused to help him in the first place, and Oikawa – as much as Watari respected him - could be tactless when he was jealous.

All of Watari’s fears vanished when he realized Kindaichi admired Oikawa too much to be jealous of him. And Oikawa was too fond of Kindaichi’s fawning to be an ass. Watari felt as if he held in his hand a delicate balance of dangerous chemicals. They were harmless – as long as the balance was precise.

“Ah - um - thank you for treating me to lunch, Oikawa-senpai!” Kindaichi said for the third time since they sat down.

Oikawa gritted his teeth together in a wide smile. Watari was sure Kindaichi didn’t notice. “Of course! It’s my job as cap - er, former captain to treat my old teammates!”

He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, grinning in a way that was obviously fake, although Kindaichi didn’t seem to notice.

Maybe there was less of a balance than Watari initially thought. Oikawa’s jealously streak ran even deeper than Watari had guessed.

“Is there...something you guys wanted to say?” asked Kindaichi while they waited for their food. “I’m not stupid, you know. I know there’s a reason for this.” His eyes flicked from Oikawa to Watari and back again, as if he wasn’t sure who was on the receiving end of his question.

Oikawa nudged his foot. Watari guessed he should start, then.

“First I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Watari began. He had known this was going to be the first thing he said to Kindaichi, and this was the perfect opportunity. “I’m sorry I can’t help you. You asked something of me as a teammate and a friend, and I couldn’t help you - ”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Kindaichi interrupted, staring intently at the table. “You didn’t let me down. You just did what you thought was right.”

Their server came and laid their food out in front of them, but no one began to eat.

Watari felt a sense of relief. Kindaichi didn’t blame him. Watari was finally able to put down the weight that’d been hanging over him ever since Kindaichi had walked away from him with a dissatisfied grimace. Letting it go was a relief.

“Apologizing isn’t the only reason we wanted to talk about,” Oikawa said. “Since Watacchi can’t help you get _with_ Iwa-chan, we’re going to help you get _over_ Iwa-chan!”

“Oh,” Kindaichi said. He started picking at his food. “Um, I don’t know if I need - ”

“Nonsense!” Oikawa interrupted, suddenly throwing an arm around Watari and proclaiming, “Watachi and I are the best love gurus in all of Miyagi! And we are going to help you get through all your love troubles!”

They waited for Kindaichi to respond in some way, to accept their advice or argue with them or just stand up and leave, but Kindaichi only rolled a grilled corn around on his plate, his gaze fixed on the moving yellow vegetable.

Finally he said, “Actually...I’m not that into Iwaizumi-san anymore.”

“Eh?” Watari and Oikawa said simultaneously.

“Yeah...I had a crush on him for a long time. I’ve been trying to get over him for a long time, but. Well…”

“It’s not easy,” Watari supplied.

“Yeah. It’s not easy.” He stopped pushing around the corn and let it roll around his plate until it came to a stop. “But I don’t think I feel the same about him as I did before.”

“And what does that mean?” Oikawa asked eagerly, leaning his chin on his palms.

Kindaichi’s face was slowly turning more and more pink. “Reaching out to you...that was my last resort. But...I knew it was just out of desperation. I was acting on feelings from a while ago. Iwaizumi's v-valentine's chocolates...it made me nervous. Asking you to do that was too much to expect of you. I...I knew it wouldn’t work out…”

“So are you over him or not?” Oikawa asked bluntly.

Watari had half a mind to smack him. “What Oikawa means is, are you ready to move on?” Watari hurriedly added, trying to soften Oikawa’s words.

“I think so – I don’t know.” Kindaichi stabbed at the vegetables on his plate, popping them into his mouth, while Oikawa watched him curiously.

Watari thought this was their chance, the opening Oikawa and he had been waiting for. “Maybe...maybe if would help if you moved on…to someone else?”

Kindaichi’s chopsticks froze before impaling a limp, overcooked carrot. He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“To help you get over Iwa-chan,” Oikawa elaborated, sending Watari a discreet wink of gratitude, “you could date someone else! That way you can see how amazing someone else is and forgot all about dumb Iwa-chan! I don’t even know what you see in him - he’s all gruff and ugly and mean, and…stupid, and...”

“We think it’d be good for you to look at all the other fish in the pond,” Watari finished before Oikawa got too carried away. “Maybe you need someone to take your mind off of him. Try dating someone else. Someone you're close with, who has similar interests…”

“...such volleyball…” Oikawa continued.

Kindaichi looked at him funny.

“...who you've known for many years…”

“...whose name starts with a k…”

Kindaichi furrowed his eyebrows. “You mean Kunimi?”

Watari nodded.

“I don't know...I don't think he likes me like that...and besides, I don't think he, you know, swings that way. Or _any_ way, for that matter.” Kindaichi’s face turned even pinker than before, and his eyes darted back and forth between his cob of corn and his overcooked beans. _Caught you,_ Watari thought.

“I. Think. You’re. Wrong,” Oikawa said, punctuating each word with the clack of his chopsticks. “He likes you more than you think. Your senpais know best. Trust me.”

Kindaichi furrowed his eyebrows in a look that said he didn’t trust Oikawa at all. “I...I don’t know…”

“Think about it,” Oikawa insisted.

“Think about it,” Watari repeated.

Kindaichi glanced back and forth between them, but, upon realizing that there was no way he was getting out of this, sighed and nodded his head.

“I’ll think about it.” He finally picked up his cob of corn and began munching on it, defeated.

Watari glanced at Oikawa. He could see the smile in the setter’s eyes. He sent his partner in crime a thumbs up. Oikawa stuck out his tongue on the side of his mouth and winked. Watari was afraid Kindaichi would notice, but was too preoccupied with his food to see.

For the first time since this whole situation began, things were going the right way. He could only hope that things would continue in the right direction, too.

 

“Watacchi! Come quickly!”

Before Watari could put down his chopsticks, he was being dragged by the arm away from his lunch and his friends by a deathly strong grip. He stumbled through the hallways as the hand led him around corners and down staircases. Once again, his lunch was interrupted. And once again, it was Oikawa's fault. _This better be good._

“Whoa, Oikawa, slow down! What - ?”

Suddenly they stopped in front of a seemingly empty classroom. He put his hand in front of Watari and edged closer to the door, one finger to his lips to indicate silence. Their backs pressed up against the wall, they edged closer to the door, and Watari heard voices coming from inside.

“Kindaichi’s confessing,” Oikawa whispered.

 _Oh._ Watari’s ears snapped to attention. He felt guilty for spying on them, but nevertheless, he couldn't find it in himself to leave, since they were already there. He leaned closer to the door, listening intently to the voices.

“…so, so what do you say?” That was definitely Kindaichi’s voice. Watari could tell how nervous he from the waiver in his tone.

For a moment, Kunimi said nothing. Watari’s pulse was racing, and he was sure Oikawa’s was too, waiting to hear Kunimi’s answer. This was the moment Watari had hoped would happen.

“No.”

He turned toward Oikawa in surprise _. No?_ he mouthed. Oikawa looked just as surprised as he was, and he had no answer for Watari.

“Oh,” came Kindaichi’s defeated voice. Guilt festered in Watari’s thoughts. Maybe, he had been wrong about Kunimi. Maybe Kunimi really _didn’t_ like Kindaichi back. And Watari made Kindaichi go through rejection for nothing.

“…I don’t want to date someone who’s in love with someone else.”

A memory flashed across his mind: Kunimi saying those exact words to him, anger burning in his eyes. That explained Kunimi’s refusal.

But if that was the only reason why Kunimi had said no, then maybe Kindaichi still had a chance.

“Is that – is that the only reason you said no?” Kindaichi asked cautiously. Watari silently cheered on his kouhai, hoping that he could find a way to salvage this situation.

Kunimi didn’t answer, but his silence was answer enough. Kindaich went on. “Kunimi, I don’t like him anymore. I told you! It’s not like that.”

“Are we done here?” The shuffling of a bag and the clack of shoes indicated Kunimi meant to leave. 

“Wait – Kunimi – please – I’ll prove it to you!”

“How?”

Watari agreed with Kunimi’s question; he was curious as to how Kindaichi would prove it, too.

“Just…hear me out. After practice, okay? I’ll prove that I don’t like Iwaizumi anymore.” Even though Watari didn’t know how he would do it, one could hardly doubt the confidence in Kindaichi’s voice. “Please?”

“…fine.”

Watari let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. At the very least, Kindaichi had a second chance - there was still hope that Kunimi would accept his teammate’s confession.

A tug on his sleeve reminded him that, despite all his previous meddling, he wasn’t suppose to be hearing this conversation right now.

 _We need to go!_ Oikawa mouthed, beginning to tiptoe away. Watari quickly followed before either of the first years had a chance to catch them spying. As soon as they rounded the corner of the hallway, they printed up the stairs back into Watari’s classroom.

 

“Well – ” Watari said between huffs of air. “ – that was - interesting.”

“Interesting indeed,” Oikawa said thoughtfully. Watari was a little resentful to see that the third year hadn’t broken a sweat after their sprint.

Watari flopped into his seat and began picking at the rest of his lunch. He probably wouldn’t have time to finish it now. “How did you even know they were in there?” he asked Oikawa.

“I like to keep tabs on my kouhai.”

“You were spying on them, weren’t you?”

“Spying is such an accusatory word, Watacchi! It pains me to hear you use it!”

“Ah, so you’re a liar, too.”

“Rude~! You’re almost as mean as Iwa-chan!”

Suddenly Watari noticed a figure standing by the door – with turnip shaped hair.

“Kindaichi!” he exclaimed. Oikawa jumped and whipped around.

Kindaichi walked up to them nervously, his fingers twiddling. It was strange to see him so soon after they’d just been spying on him, but Watari tried to hide his discomfort.

“Uh, what’s up?” Watari asked when the first year stood before him.

“Can you guys help me?” Kindaichi asked bluntly.

“Of course we can~!” Oikawa sang. “We can do whatever you need us to – ”

“I need you to make sure Kunimi stays after practice today,’ Kindaichi said, looking at Watari. Then he turned to Oikawa and said, “And I need you to make Iwaizumi come to the gym when we’re finished practicing.”

Both Watari and Oikawa shared a look of confusion. They couldn’t tell what the first year was planning, but anything involving Iwaizumi and Kunimi, at this point, did not sound like it would end up well.

Oikawa narrowed his eyes and asked, “Kindaichi, what do you want with Iwaizumi-san?”

Kindaichi grinned nervously. “I’m going to confess to him.”

 

Watari was nervous all throughout practice. He still wasn’t sure what Kindaichi’s plan was, and even though he’d heard Kunimi say he’d wait for Kindaichi after practice, Watari wasn’t sure if he’d keep his word.

Practice dragged on and on until suddenly it was over, as if those grueling hours had gone by in a flash. Suddenly they were all changing, and the other first years were leaving, and Yahaba and Kyoutani walked out of the locker room holding hands as usual.

It was just Kunimi and him. Kindaichi was probably already in the gym.

Watari edged closer to Kunimi. “So…Kunimi…” Watari wasn’t sure how exactly he was supposed to say. _Don’t go yet? For no particular reason, I think you should head over to the gym? Do remember what Kindaichi said after he confessed to you? I hope you weren’t planning on leaving because I’m here to make sure you stay?_

Kunimi looked at him with tired eyes. “Kindaichi put you up to this, right?”

“Um…”

“I guess that’s kind of thoughtful,” Kunimi said, in almost a whisper. Watari smiled. Kunimi hid his feelings behind a hard shell, but it seemed Kindaichi had already cracked his armor. “But he didn’t have to. I wasn’t going to run away.”

“He’d be glad to hear that,” Watari said. He walked Kunimi into the gym – just to make sure he got there – and came upon a triad of people. Oikawa, standing off to the side with his mouth pinched in irritation, Iwaizumi, looking confusedly between Kindaichi and Oikawa, and Kindaichi himself, whose brows were hardened in confidence (even though Watari noticed his fingers twiddling like mad.)

Watar glanced at Kunimi. His kouhai kept his poker face, even though Watari knew his heart must be pounding.

“Kindaichi…what’s this about?” Iwaizumi finally asked.

“Iwaizumi-san, I’ve liked you for a long time!” Kindaichi said, almost shouting.

Iwaizumi looked like a deer in headlights. “Kindaichi - ”

“UM!” Kindaichi interrupted. “P-please, just...let me finish.”

Iwaizumi considered the flustered first year for a moment, and then nodded.

“I-I had a crush on you for a long time. Since, since middle school I think. You were just always so cool, and strong, and you were a lot nicer to us underclassman than the others...And you still are all those things, but, but I think I’ve moved on now. There’s someone else who I realized is very important to me, more than I ever realized. And...you have someone else waiting for you.

“That person who’s important to me now doesn’t know how important they really are, so I have to prove it to them now. But before I can do that, I need to move on from my crush on you. I never had the courage to tell you before, so I’m telling you now.”

For a long while, Iwaizumi stared at Kindaichi in shock. Watari didn’t blame him. He didn’t know how he’d respond to such a confession either.

“I...um...thank you for telling me that,” Iwaizumi finally said. “I’m glad you felt you could be honest with me.”

Kindaichi nodded. “Thank you for listening to me.”

Watari felt oddly proud. Less than a month ago, Kindaichi had been so scared to face Iwaizumi that he’d come to Watari for help. And now, he had confessed to him, by his own decision, in front of his current crush. Whatever his faults, no one could say that Kindaichi wasn’t brave.

Kindaichi turned to Kunimi. “Was that enough proof for you?” he asked, unable to meet Kunimi’s eyes.

Throughout the exchange, Kunimi had been silent. He was probably as shocked as the rest of the them. When he finally found his voice, he asked, “But…but what about the chocolates?”

“Chocolates?”

“The ones you gave to Iwaizumi on Valentine’s day?”

Kindaichi cocked his head. “Um – that wasn’t me.”

 _“What?”_ several voices echoed across the gym. Watari was shocked - he had been so sure Kindaichi was the one to leave the red, heart-shaped box. 

“Yeah, I didn’t do that…I would’ve been too afraid…did you really all think it was me...?”

“Then how come you acted so suspicious?” Watari said. He couldn’t help but remember Kindaichi’s not-so-discreet escape from the locker room that day. “You ran away as soon as he found them.”

“I - Did not!”

“You did,” Kunimi countered.

Kindaichi struggled to argue back. “I-it doesn’t matter – I, um, I was kinda jealous. At the time.”

“Oh.”

“But…I’m not anymore,” Kindaichi admitted, finally bringing his eyes up to meet Kunimi’s.

_Yes! You go, Kindaichi!_

“You sure you’re not jealous?” Kunimi asked skeptically.

“Not in the slightest.”

For a long time, Kindaichi and Kunimi didn’t stop looking at each other, smirks on their faces. But Kindaichi seemed to forget he wasn’t quite finished yet.

Watari stepped discreetly behind Kunimi, and waved to get Kindaichi’s attention. _Ask him again!_ Watari mouthed, repeatedly pointing his finger at Kunimi.

Kindaichi snapped out of his daze and coughed. He cleared his throat, straightened his back, and asked, “So Kunimi…will you go out with me?”

A small smile – not a smirk, but a true, honest smile – bloomed on Kunimi’s lips. “Yeah. I will.” He stepped closer to Kindaichi and threaded their hands together, ignoring the bright shade of red that blossomed across kindaichi’s face. “Even though you’re kind of an asshole.”

Kindaichi smirked. “Well, you’re kind of an asshole too, you know.”

“Fair enough,” Kunimi said.

Watari was overjoyed. He’d messed up along the way, but in the end, everything had worked out. Yet he couldn’t take credit for setting the two first years up. Oikawa, looking as proud as Watari, had helped too. But ultimately, Kindaichi was one who’d stepped beyond his boundaries to be with his true crush, and Watari was simply happy he finally got the happy ending he deserved. Everything had worked itself it. Almost.

“Then..." Iwaizumi muttered, "...who gave me those chocolates?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> special thanks to blueberry_muffin for helping me through this chapter!
> 
> and thank you all so much for the comments and kudos - you guys are too kind!
> 
>  
> 
> _for Watari's final act, we have the one and only couple you've all been waiting for..._


	4. (IwaOi) The Finale That Everyone Saw Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the school year comes to a close, Watari has one last loose end to tie up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after 57 years, it is done. 
> 
> i'm so sorry for the wait guys i was v busy and lacking inspiration and wow, writing from Watari's POV is kind of hard, but here have ~~10,000 words, hopefully that will make up for it?
> 
> also sorry it's lile 90% dialogue forgive me pls

Kindaichi and Kunimi left the gym in a hurry, happy to leave the upperclassmen and their questions behind. Watari supposed he should go as well, but he was reluctant to leave Oikawa and Iwaizumi as they were now: Iwaizumi, starring unblinkingly at the floor, dazed and confused, and Oikawa, setting his lips in a fine line. His controlled, neutral expression made Watari worry he had something devious on his mind.

Finally, Oikawa sighed loudly and placed his hands on his hips. “Well, that worked out well~!” he sung.

Watari nodded. “Better than I could have hoped.”

Iwaizumi finally looked up. “Yeah. That was really brave of Kindaichi…” he said with admiration. “He’s a good kid.” Iwaizumi sounded really impressed with first year. Kindaichi would have just about had a heart attack if he knew Iwaizumi admired him as much as he admired Iwaizumi.

Oikawa pouted. He stepped closer to Iwaizumi and slapped his back hard.

Iwaizumi stumbled forward. “Oi! What the fuck – ”

“Well, I think our work is done here, Watacchi. I’ll meet you outside in a second~!”

Something in Oikawa’s voice made his statement sound more like a demand. So Watari said his goodbyes and left the gym, mindful that neither Oikawa nor Iwaizumi had moved an inch.

He’d barely gotten two meters out the door when he heard a voice carry out of the gym.

“It was me.”

Watari paused. _Was that - ?_

“ _I_ gave you the chocolates.” It was unmistakably Oikawa’s voice.

Before he could fully register Oikawa’s words, Watari’s feet pulled him back towards the gym, stationing him just outside the door. He pressed his back against the wall and held his breath. He knew he shouldn’t listen in, but after what Oikawa had just said, Watari couldn’t bring himself to walk away. _Oikawa must be rubbing off on me._

Iwaizumi’s voice echoed out the gym doors. “I – what – you – d’you mean - ”

Finding out it wasn't Kindaichi had thrown Watari for a loop, but now that he knew that, realizing it was Oikawa didn't surprise him. He only wondered why he didn't consider him before. But for Iwaizumi, Watari couldn’t imagine what he was feeling right now - Oikawa’s sudden confession must have rattled him. It’s not everyday you find out your childhood friend left you Valentine’s chocolates.

“…why did you…give them to me?” Iwaizumi finally said.

Even from outside, Watari could feel the tension in the gym heighten. Watari knew Iwaizumi didn’t mean anything by it, he was probably just confused, but Oikawa might not realize that in the heat of the moment.

“Why?” Oikawa said with a sardonic laugh. “They’re Valentine’s Day chocolates, Iwa-chan…”

For a long moment, Iwaizumi was silent.

Watari wished he could see what was happening between them. Their voices only gave so much away.

Oikawa coughed and continued in his silence. “ – which means that, as your friend, it was my duty to make sure you received chocolates. Since Iwa-chan has such an ugly face, I couldn’t count on someone _else_ giving them to you, and how embarrassing it would have been if you didn’t get any at all! No, I couldn’t let you appear to be the lonely hermit you actually are, so I took to liberty to give a box to you myself. You’re welcome~!”

Oikawa’s voice had taken on a much different tone. His voice dripped with the sweetness of sugar glaze, no longer sincere, but processed and fake. He knew – and Iwaizumi must, too – that Oikawa was putting on a show.

“What the hell, Oikawa?” Iwaizumi bellowed. “You expect me to thank you for that? You – I – I didn’t want you dumb _pity_ chocolates! That’s as good as lying, you asshole! You made me think that, that someone – someone actually…”

 _…someone actually liked me,_ is what Watari imagined the rest of Iwaizumi’s thought was. Watari could picture Iwaizumi’s face turning red with embarrassment and anger and maybe even shame.

“I didn’t need any chocolates Oikawa! Not everyone’s as obsessed with popularity and attention as you are – I don’t need any stupid chocolate from someone who didn’t even _mean_ it when they gave it to me.”

Iwaizumi’s shoes squeaked against the polished gym floor, declaring an end to their conversation.

“Iwa-chan – ”

“Shut up! I can’t stand to hear your dumbass voice anymore.”

Watari took that as his cue to leave. He sprinted away as silently as he could before either Iwaizumi or Oikawa could catch him snooping.

Watari ran all the way home. As he ran, he went over what Oikawa had said again and again in his mind, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to believe that Oikawa was telling the truth. He’d sounded to fake when he said it, almost resentful, and Watari couldn’t help but think he was covering up for the fact that he really _had_ meant the little red box to be a show of affection.

Finally he came to a stop outside his house, holding his hands behind his head and panting.

Watari had been sure that after the almost-disaster with Kindaichi and Kunimi, he should stop helping couples hit it off. But from what he had just heard, Watari knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from meddling. As a loyal friend, he couldn’t let his teammates argue like this: not before the left high school for good. As the un-official matchmaker of Seijoh, Watari had to see this one last deed through.

And really, how much worse could it get?

 

It wasn’t until a few days later, when Matsukawa and Hanamaki cornered him during lunch, that Watari got a chance to see the repercussions of Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s argument.

_Why is it always lunch? Why can’t I eat in peace?_

The other second years slid quietly away when the two towering third years made their way into the classroom. Sometimes Watari forgot the intimidating presence the third years had. Watari found it hard to feel intimidated when he knew so much about…well, a more private side of them.

“Hey – matchmaker-kun. You know what’s up with the drama queen and his knight in shining armor?” Hanamaki greeted him.

Watari slurped his miso soup, determined to finish his lunch this time, even if the third years were questioning him.

He wondered if he should tell them about the argument he overheard.

“What do you mean?” he asked innocently. 

“They’ve been acting strange. Like, they don’t talk about each other all the time now,” Matsukawa said.

“Yeah, and Oikawa isn’t hanging off Iwaizumi like a monkey anymore.”

“And every time we bring Iwaizumi up he takes off on another subject faster Makki can take off his pants.”

“And I can do that pretty fast.”

“I asked Iwaizumi about Oikawa yesterday and he fucking _walked away_. He just _left_. Right in the middle of my sentence.”

“I didn’t even see them having lunch together.”

“Yeah. It’s weird to see one without the other.”

“Are they even walking home together?”

They looked at Watari questioningly. He shrugged. “How should I know?”

“You seem to know everything about couples these days,” Matsukawa contended.

Watari considered that for a moment. “You’ve got me there.”

Looking at how concerned the two third years were for their friends, Watari decided to tell them everything he knew. If anyone deserved to know, it was them; for all their antics and sarcasm, Hanamaki and Matsukawa really cared for their teammates. Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s fight not only severed their own relationship, but also splintered their group of friends.

Plus, if Watari was going to pull this off, he would need help.

“Damn…and I was so sure that Kindaichi was the one who left the chocolates,” Hanamaki said once he finished.

Matsukawa shrugged. “I’m happy for the kid. Sounds like he finally grew a pair of balls.”

Watari cleared his throat. “…so anyways. I think we have to do something about Oikawa and Iwaizumi.”

“Obviously,” Hanamaki sighed, sliding down into the chair next to Watari, recently vacated by one of his more timid classmates. “We can't let them go off to college when they’re not even speaking to each other.”

“Yeah, if they ended things like this, I don’t know if they’d even speak to each other again.”

Watari thought Iwaizumi and Oikawa would go to the same college. They’d _have_ to speak if they lived on the same campus, wouldn’t they? “What do you mean?”

“Since they’re going to different universities…you can’t count on them keeping in touch if they hate each other.”

“Oh…” It was strange to think after all their years together, the childhood friends would be heading their separate ways. Matsukawa had been right when he said it was strange to see one without the other; Watari couldn’t imagine Oikawa without Iwaizumi to ground him, or Iwaizumi without Oikawa to lift him towards the stars. Where they functioned well on their own, they functioned better together. They were partners in crime, and had been since childhood – and Watari knew firsthand exactly how well they worked together. Sure, each could manage on his own. But together, they were something special. More than anything else, they were happy together. If they continued to be stubborn asses and argue with each other, they’d never be able to recover their connection… But he couldn’t worry about that now, because if his plan failed, their connection would be lost forever. The stakes were higher than Watari had thought.

Watari slammed his bento on the table. “We need to come up with an intervention plan,” he declared.

Hanamaki nodded. “What do you have in mind?”

Watari thought for a moment, and came up with…nothing. He needed more help, more scheming minds. _More minds…_

“We need to have a team meeting.”

 

**To Yahaba:**

can u call a team meeting

**From Yahaba:**

Why?

**To Yahaba:**

trust me its v important

**From Yahaba:**

Why is it that I don’t feel like your very trust worthy?

**To Yahaba:**

idk man

**To Yahaba:**

the last time u trusted me i got u a muscly bf

**To Yahaba:**

so i dont see the problem

**From Yahaba:**

…fair enough

 

The next morning’s practice was dedicated to “Improving Team Dynamics,” which meant Watari gathered all the current team members – plus Hanamaki and Matsukawa – together to explain the unhappy couple’s predicament.

“That was a really dick move Oikawa pulled,” Kindaichi muttered.

“But I think he only said it because he was scared Iwaizumi wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings,” Watari said, feeling obligated to defend Oikawa.

“That’s some insightful analysis, matchmaker-kun.”

“Besides, it doesn’t sound like Iwaizumi dealt with it well either. He didn’t have to get so angry about it.”

“What did you expect? Oikawa was being a little shit. I think Iwaizumi responded reasonably.”

“He wouldn’t have had to deal with that if he’d just recognized what Oikawa had meant by those chocolates!”

“AHEM!” Watari yelled, trying to break off the argument before it got too heated. “We’re not here to discuss who’s right and who’s wrong. We’re here to make sure – no matter whose fault it is – Oikawa and Iwaizumi become friends again.”

“Or more than friends,” Hanamaki mumbled.

“Or more than friends,” Watari acknowledged. This whole mess had started because Oikawa had wanted to be more than friends with Iwaizumi, so it only made sense to make that their ultimate goal would be for them to realize their mutual feelings for each other. “So – who’s got an idea?”

They all thought for a moment. Yahaba suggested, “How about a blind date?”

Kindaichi frowned. “Don’t they…already know each other?”

No one had an answer for him.

“Well…” Yahaba finally said, trying to defend his idea, “it would give them an excuse to meet up.”

“I can’t see that going well.”

“They’d probably ban together to rip our throats out when they found out.”

“At least they’d be together?”

“Guys, who’s to say they’d even agree to go on a blind date in the first place?”

They all thought for a while.

“What if we locked them in a closet until they made up?” Hanamaki offered.

Kunimi rolled his eyes. “That’s the most cliché solution I’ve ever heard.”

“Ah, but why do you think it’s a cliché? Because it’s the _best_ solution.”

“It’d never work anyway,” Matsukawa sighed. “Oikawa’s too stubborn to apologize first and Iwaizumi would find a way out with those arms of his before admitting he pulled a dick move.”

Watari had thought that, with more people, they’d be able to come up with a good idea quickly. But the ideas the team offered kind of sucked.

Watari was about to give up when a gem finally arose out of the rocks.

“…how about a good-bye party?”

Everyone’s heads turned to the source of the voice. And everyone was shocked to see it was Kyoutani who had made the suggestion.

“A party?”

Kyoutani shrugged. “I don’t know. It was just an idea.”

Yahaba’s eyes lit up. “Actually, that’s perfect. If we host a party, we can have a controlled environment. Plus, since we would all be there, they’d _have_ to get along, since it’s in front of us.” Yahaba turned to the ace with a smirk. “Kyoutani, I’m surprised you had such a good idea.”

Kyoutani narrowed his eyes. “What’s so surprising about it?”

Yahaba ignored his boyfriend and turned to Watari. “What do you think? I can host a party under the guise that it’s a good-bye party…which, it would kind of be a good-bye party anyway…”

Everyone’s gaze slipped to Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who purposefully avoided their stares. He didn’t blame them. Saying good-bye – leaving – was probably the last thing they wanted to think about right now.

Yahaba cleared his throat, redirecting everyone’s attention back to himself. “…but we could make plans to pair them off. Like I said, they’d have to behave civilly, no matter what we did with them. And maybe, since it’s a good-bye party, they’ll realize how much they need to make up.”

Watari agreed. This was the best plan so far.

He held up both his hands to Kyoutani. “Great idea, man,” he said.

Kyoutani looked at his hands curiously for a moment, but then reciprocated his high five. Watari’s hands stung as Kyoutani’s hands slapped his own with more force than he was expecting. Kyoutani gave a satisfied nod, and Watari noticed the little smile dancing on his lips.

“Alright. That’s a great start to the plan, guys. Now, let’s talk about the details…”

 

After much discussion and heated debate, the plan was devised.

Phase One of the plan was making sure both Oikawa and Iwaizumi attended the party. Hanamaki and Matsukawa claimed they could persuade Oikawa to come.

“It’s not like he would willingly miss a party,” Hanamaki had explained.

They all agreed that Watari should be the one to convince Iwaizumi.

“Why me?” he’d asked.

“Because it’s your idea,” Matsukawa had said.

Hanamaki had added, “And you look the most innocent out of all of us. He’d never think you were up to something.”

“I’ve been meddling with your lives for the past several months? Iwaizumi knows that?”

No one had anything to say to that.

“Well, good luck, matchmaker-kun!” Unfortunately that had been the end to that discussion, and Watari was left with his task.

Anyone who knew Iwaizumi – actually, anyone who saw his _arms_ – could tell he worked out. Watari knew this better than anyone else, because in his quest to gain a little muscle himself, he often saw Iwaizumi at the gym. It was the perfect place to ask him; it was relatively quiet – at least, away from the other students – and Iwaizumi was always in a good mood when he worked out.

Sure enough, the next time Watari went to the gym, he saw Iwaizumi on the [lat pulldown machine](http://www.sparkpeople.com/assets/exercises/Traditional-Lat-Pulldown-Machine.gif). He waved and walked up to the third year, and settled onto the machine next to him.

_Okay. Here it goes._

“Hey, Iwaizumi.”

“’Sup?” He didn’t down up from the bar his hands were wrapped around, continuing to stare pointedly in front of him, his triceps straining, muscles bulging, as he lifted the intimidating amount weight.

_One day, I’m going to have arms like that._

Watari gulped back his jealously. “Yahaba is planning a farewell party for the third years. Next Saturday. He’s hosting. Everyone’s going to be there…and we were hoping you could come?”

Watari braced himself for whatever Iwaizumi’s answer would be.

“Okay. I’ll come.”

“Oh. Oh! That’s great. Everyone will be glad to see you there.” That was…easy. _Too_ easy. 

“Yeah, well, I’m going to miss all of you too…”

Basking in his success, Watari didn’t notice the confusion spreading across Iwaizumi’s face until it was too late.

“Wait,” Iwaizumi said suddenly. He let go of the bar and faced him. “Is Oikawa going to be there?”

 _Play it cool, play it cool._ Watari was expecting this, so he was prepared. “Not sure. Everyone on the team’s invited, though.”

Iwaizumi stared hard at the weight in front of him, as if it would answer his question since Watari couldn’t.

“…will that be a problem?” Watari added cautiously.

Iwaizumi broke off stare and starting lifting again, even more intensely than before. “No - It’s fine - we’re fine,” he said aggressively, forcing his words.

“So you’ll be there?” Watari asked.

“Yeah. It’s my last good bye to the team. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Iwaizumi said, yanking the bar up and down.

Afraid that this would be his last chance to assess the situation, Watari pressed the matter further.

“Iwaizumi? The way you guys have been acting lately…is there something up with you and Oikawa?"

The ace jerked the bar down aggressively, clenching his teeth. “He’s just being more of an ass than usual.”

“Is that really it?”

Iwaizumi set the bar down for the last time and turned to face Watari with a grim smile. “You’re right. That’s…not really it. Um, that’s not _all_ of it.”

Watari watched him, waiting for him to continue. Iwaizumi scratched the back of his neck and sighed.

“Look. I’ve dealt with Oikawa’s bullshit for a long time now. I can put up with it, I’m used to it. It’s usually minor, stupid things, and I always see right through him…I guess that’s what comes from knowing him since we were kids.

“But this time – this time was different. He did something stupid, and when he tried to explain to me…well the point is, I don’t know if he’s giving me bullshit or not. I thought he was, but I don’t know if my own… _feelings_ …are clouding my judgment.”

“Maybe you should talk to him about it?” Watari suggested. _Then this whole thing can be over before it even starts._

Iwaizumi gave a biting laugh and shook his head. “No, _hell_ no. That’s not something I can just _ask_ him. He’d probably just give me more shit excuses anyway…”

Watari sensed this was all Iwaizumi had to say. And Watari had heard enough. He stood up and draped his towel over his shoulder. “Thanks for confiding in me, Iwaizumi. I hope everything with you and Oikawa works out.”

Iwaizumi nodded at him and picked up his things. Watari watched as he meandered out of the gym, with a lost, contemplative look in his eyes. Watari pursed his lips. He’d have to cross his fingers for everything to go well at the party.

 

Friday afternoon, Oikawa joined their practice, giving Yahaba tips about captaincy and helping Kindaichi get better at his jump serve. But immediately after practice was over, he cornered Watari in the gym while everyone else was in the locker room.

“So, Watacchi, are you coming to the party tomorrow?” Oikawa asked sweetly.

Watari gulped. That was all he needed to hear to figure out Oikawa _knew_. “Um, yeah. I heard you’re going too?”

Oikawa ignored his question and said, “Iwaizumi will be there, too.” It was strange to hear Oikawa call Iwaizumi by his full last name – the word sounded foreign on his lips. “How convenient. You might have noticed we had a little misunderstanding recently…and now, we’ll have to talk.

“How convenient," he repeated. 

Suddenly the setter yanked Watari's collar up, and got in his face. His eyes were wide, but his eyebrows furrowed, his grin wavering on the edge of anger.

“I know what you’re doing,” he spat. “I _do_ want to get over this stupid fight with Iwa-chan, but I don’t want you meddling. Promise me you won’t try and fix this, and that you won’t interfere.”

Despite Oikawa’s scary face, Watari held his gaze. He forced himself to remember that the only reason Oikawa was acting like this was because he was scared to face Iwaizumi again – scared to face his feelings. If anything, this confrontation confirmed Watari’s belief that Oikawa really _had_ meant it when he gave Iwaizumi those chocolates.

He relaxed against Oikawa’s grip and shrugged, with a guilty grin. “Well I can promise you one thing – you will be together again.”

Oikawa let him go in surprise. Then he laughed. “Watacchi – your sass is greatly underestimated.”

Watari adjusted his collar and forced a grin. Even though he’d been able to put up a front against Oikawa, he was always shaken after seeing the setter’s darker side.

Oikawa pat him on the shoulder – it was really more of a smack. “I don’t want you to meddle, but I can see you can’t be reasoned with. That’s fine. But let me be the first to tell you that _I’m not falling for any of it._ ”

With that final word, Oikawa sauntered off.

Watari wondered how much it would impact the plan, now that Oikawa knew. Oikawa said he wouldn’t comply to their plan, but Watari believed he would change with Iwaizumi present. He _had_ to believe it.

 

_Knock knock knock._

Watari adjusted his grip on big box of party supplies he was carrying, hoping that Yahaba would open the door soon. Who knew plastic plates and balloons were so heavy.

The past week had passed by in a flash, and now there was only an hour left until everyone started to arrive to the _Aoba Joshai Unofficial Good-Bye Party_ , as Yahaba had dubbed it. Yahaba had asked Kyoutani and him to arrive early to help set things up. Watari didn’t think they needed all the decorations, but Yahaba insisted.

So here he was, decorations and all, because Watari Shinji is nothing if not a reliable friend.

The door swung open and in the doorway stood Kyoutani, with a purple party hat on his head.

Watari couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter at the sight of the intimidating spiker wearing that sparkly little hat.

“Yahaba made me wear it,” Kyoutani asserted, opening the door wide enough for him to enter.

Watari pushed past him, noting, “He can’t see you now. If that was the only reason why you were wearing it, you would have taken it off by now.”

Kyoutani grunted and followed him inside.

Watari had barely set down the box when a party hat was smashed onto his head.

“Welcome!” Yahaba said, tugging the elastic strap of the hat under Watari’s chin. “You brought the goods?”

Watari jerked away from Yahaba’s grasp, earning him a _whap_ as the elastic snapped back into his chin. He winced and adjusted the hat (which he would be taking off the moment Yahaba wasn’t looking.) “Yeah, I got the goods.”

He opened the box to reveal a small mountain of balloons, tissue paper, plastic plates, bowls, chopsticks, paper napkins, party streamers, and an air pump.

Yahaba clapped his hands together. “Good. Then let's get started.”

The three of them spent the next half hour blowing up balloons, setting up the table, and starting up karaoke.

“I almost forgot about the karaoke…” he muttered to himself, sorting through the cords behind Yahaba’s TV. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten Phase Two of their plan.

He mentally started going through the list of viable songs he could sing. Watari didn’t mind singing in front of others – plus, Yahaba would make him do it anyway – but he would really hoped Yahaba had songs that he knew. “Remind me why we chose this again?”

That comment earned him a slap from a balloon. “We couldn’t think of anything else, alright? Just remember – it’s for the sake of the plan.”

“Right. The plan.”

Yahaba rolled his eyes. “Yes, the plan. Now put the damn disk in.”

 

Oikawa was the first to arrive. “Anyone else here yet?” he asked innocently as he sauntered into Yahaba’s newly decorated living room. Apparently Kyoutani had a knack for making tissue paper flowers, and white and teal ones dotted the doorways and tables. Oikawa picked one up and examined it, the expression on his face reading _Not bad._

“Iwaizumi isn’t here yet,” Kyoutani said. Oikawa winced.

“I didn’t ask about him.”

Yahaba snorted. “You might as well have.”’

Oikawa gave a pouty huff, and for a moment, Watari was afraid he would leave. But the setter flopped down on the couch with his legs crossed, quickly becoming intrigued with the TV. “Is this karaoke?” he asked curiously. He stole the remote off the table and started scrolling through the song list, which consisted of popular American songs from the last few decades. “Oh my god, it is! Yahaba – how did you _know_ karaoke was my favorite?!”

Watari sighed with relief, sure that Oikawa won’t leave anytime soon.

The rest of the team – those that could make it, at least – arrived shortly after Oikawa. The last to arrive was Iwaizumi, who took the seat in the living room furthest away from Oikawa.

The two didn’t pay each other any mind. Watari watched them closely, but they didn’t even make eye contact.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one watching them. Hanamaki and Matsukawa split up, the former taking a place next to Oikawa on the couch, and the later sitting on the armrest of Iwaizumi’s chair. Kindaichi kept swiveling his head back and forth between the two. He caught Yahaba whispering in Kyoutani’s ear, pointing discreetly at the two third years. Even Kunimi was sneaking glances.

Once they were all present and seated, Yahaba stood in front of the TV and clapped his hands twice. “Alright guys – if you couldn’t tell, we’re starting out the night with karaoke – ”

Oikawa and Hanamaki started cheering.

“Ahem.” Yahaba silenced them with a harsh glare. (And Yahaba thought he wasn’t fit to be captain. He was already picking up on Oikawa’s tricks.) “As I was saying, we’re doing karaoke. But this is a special karaoke, it’s couples karaoke, which I thought would be perfect for our team.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Watari saw all the blood drain from Iwaizumi’s face. He imagined Oikawa looked the same.

“So we’ll be doing duets – ”

“I call Watari!” a shout came from the other side of the room. Watari jumped. Iwaizumi looked at him desperately. “I mean, if you’re okay with that – ”

 _Well, that wasn’t the plan._ Watari was suppose to insist on joining Yahaba and Kyoutani’s group, and Iwaizumi and Oikawa were supposed to have to join together: then they’d _have_ to make up - at least momentarily. He didn’t expect _himself_ to be the obstacle in their way; Watari knew it went against the plan, but he couldn’t just turn Iwaizumi down. At the very least, it was rude, but at worst, he was afraid if he suggested that Iwaizumi be Oikawa’s partner, they would suspect something. Oikawa definitely would, and Watari didn't want him to leave so soon. “Um, sure,” he mumbled.

Watari thought he heard Iwaizumi murmur something resembling, “Oh thank god.”

“I call Matsun!” Hanamaki called.

“Um, Kunimi…?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

“I already promised Kyoutani I’d do it with him…”

Apparently everyone had given up on the plan rather easily…though Watari wasn’t one to speak.

With all the available partners taken, everyone turned toward the loner in the room. Oikawa sat with his legs crossed, completely still, but to everyone’s surprise, he had a smile on his face. “Perfect. I am probably the only one here capable of singing _two_ parts by himself. _And_ I already have a song picked out, so I call first!”

Yahaba tossed Oikawa the remote and a small metal microphone. He stood up tall in front of the TV and held the microphone to against his hip. Soon, [a brassy intro began](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s&nohtml5=False). 

_“You can dance!_

_You can jive!_

_Having the time of your life!_

_Oooh see that girl! Watch that scene,_

_Digging the dancing queen!”_

A few groans from the other third years were mostly overpowered by the music from the speakers and by Oikawa’s powerful voice. He was effortlessly in tune, hitting all the high notes with an accuracy characteristic of his perfectionist personality.

_“Friday night and the lights are low_

_Looking out for the place to go – ”_

Watari started clapping along, and the other boys joined in – even Iwaizumi, to Watari’s delight. Soon they were all boasting in song:

_“You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen_

_Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine!”_

Oikawa turned around and swayed his hips, clapping in time above his head, smirking at them as his strong voice led them all through the song that they can’t help but sing along to. The setter's gaze slid over to Iwaizumi, unconsciously, and Watari saw the moment when their eyes meet. Both whipped around the other way, Oikawa stumbling over his words and Iwaizumi clapping a beat out of time. But they ignored it like it never happened, and carried on singing the rest of the song.

_“…see that girl! Watch that scene,_

_Digging the dancing queen!”_

Oikawa bowed as the song ends, igniting applause from his small audience.

“Thank you, thank you!” he said, tossing the microphone to Hanamaki.

He stood up and hauled Matsukawa to his feet by pulling him up by the waist. They whisper to each other for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.

_[“Is this the real life?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ&nohtml5=False) _

_Or is this just fantasy?”_

Oh god.

_“Caught in a landslide,_

_No escape from reality.”_

“Holy shit, we’re in for a ride,” Watari heard Iwaizumi whisper underneath his breath.

They all sat back and watched as the shitfest ensued. From the way they sang – loud and brash and horribly out of tune, but with enough passion to fuel their sexcapades for a month – you would think they were made to sing this song.

Hanamaki turned dramatically to the side, the microphone gripped tightly in his hands.

 _“Mama, just killed a man_  
_Put a gun against his head_  
_Pulled my trigger, now he's dead!”_

Matsukawa flopped against Hanamaki’s curled back, his hand dragging over his brow dramatically.

 _“Mama, life had just begun_  
_But now I've gone and thrown it all away.”_

They fell into each other’s arms.

 _“Mama, ooooo!_  
_Didn't mean to make you cry_  
_If I'm not back again this time tomorrow_  
_Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters…”_

They croaked verse after verse in the way a dying horse calls in agony, sinking down to their knees. They stood up and danced around each other, periodically falling into each other’s arms.

 _“Bismillah! No we will not let you go!”_ Matsukawa shouted.

 _“- let him go!”_ Hanamaki squeaked.

_"Bismillah! We will not let you go”_

_“let him go!”_

_“Will not let you go let me go_  
_Never let you go let me go_  
_Never let me go ooo_  
_No, no, no, no, no, no, no!”_

They started strumming air guitar, and beating on invisible drums, and their finale ended with Hanamaki stabbing himself with the microphone and slowly dying in Matsukawa’s arms.

_“…Nothing really matters,_

_Nothing really matters to me…”_

The rest of the team broke into applause. Watari didn’t know how they coordinated it so well – if they had legitimately rehearsed this before, or if they had some weird psychic connection. Honestly, Watari would have believed either.

They sat through two more rounds of duets – Kindaichi and Kunimi nervously singing “Never Gonna Give You Up” (Watari still couldn't believe the first years had the audacity to Rick Roll them) and Yahaba and Kyoutani’s ridiculously cheesy version of “I Will Always Love You” (How Yahaba got Kyoutani to belt out the chorus like that, Watari will never understand.)

Finally, it was his turn. Yahaba handed off the microphone to him, and Iwaizumi joined him in front of the TV.

“Any ideas?” Iwaizumi asked.

Watari smirked. There had been one that had got his attention while Oikawa was scrolling through the list earlier. He whispered the title in Iwaizumi’s ear.

“Perfect,” he said with a grin.

Watari felt a prickling in the back of his neck, and turned around. Oikawa was glaring at him, and Watari shivered. He shrugged in a poor excuse to say sorry, but Oikawa just huffed in contempt.

Suddenly [the piano solo started](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q9q6zl3WIs&nohtml5=False), and Watari turned back to the screen quickly. But it turned out Iwaizumi had control of this intro.

_“When I was a young boy_

_My father took me into the city_

_To see a marching band.”_

Everyone was stunned into silence. If Oikawa’s voice was angelic, then Iwaizumi’s voice was godly. Each note was coated with that golden tone of his deep, rich voice, swollen with quiet power yet light as a cloud.

He side-eyed Oikawa, who was in as much shock as everyone else.

_“He said “Son when you grow up_

_would you be the savior of the broken_

_the beatened and the damned?”_

Iwaizumi glanced at him, asking with his eyes when Watari would join him. Watari waved his hand, telling Iwaizumi to keep going. He could have this intro, at the very least. He was sure everyone was dying to hear more of Iwaizumi’s voice, and although he wasn’t an awful singer, he didn’t want to be the one to interrupt it.

The chorus started, and Watari joined in, grinning at Iwaizumi.

 _“We'll carry on,_  
_We'll carry on_  
_And though you're dead and gone believe me_  
_Your memory will carry on!”_

It was exhilarating to sing with Iwaizumi. His voice carried them through the song, strong and encouraging, and Watari noticed everyone tapping along to the beat. (Except Oikawa, who continued to sit stock-still.)

A snare drum solo marked the end of their act and Watari pulled Iwaizumi into a dramatic bow.

“Holy shit, Iwaizumi, since when can you sing like that?” Hanamaki asked, voicing the thought of everyone in the room.

Iwaizumi shrugged. “Dunno. My mom use to tell me I was good at singing, but I never believed her.”

“Hey – Oikawa – did you know he could sing like that?”

Oikawa bit his lip. “No,” he said coldly. Iwaizumi turned to the side, avoiding Oikawa’s piercing stare.

Hanamaki struggled to prevent the awkward silence that began to settle. “Oh. I mean, I thought you would have known, since you guys…are pretty close…”

“I thought I would have too, Makki,” Oikawa said with a poker face. _Oh shit,_ Watari thought. He had a bad feeling about this, as he did whenever Oikawa had that poker face.

“I thought we were close enough to share things like that with each other. I guess we’re not, though.”

Iwaizumi finally looked Oikawa’s way and barked at him, “Asshole! If anyone should be saying that, it’s me!”

Suddenly Yahaba intervened, pressing his hand firmly against Iwaizumi’s chest. “Hey guys, since you two have the best voices out of all of us, why don’t you do a duet?”

Watari stared at Yahaba, shocked. He wanted to smack his head against a wall. Was Yahaba that dense? They were arguing again, and now Yahaba expected them to do a duet?! _It’s too late for the plan, bro!_ Watari wanted to yell at him.

Unfortunately, the other third years started cheering. “Duet. Duet. Duet. Duet!”

“Ha!” Oikawa’s biting laugh silenced the cheering. "You think I’d want to do a duet with this guy? I’m not _that_ self-deprecating.”

Silence settled over the group, as everyone turned towards Iwaizumi. He was practically exuding waves of anger – you could see it in the clench of his jaw and the twitch of his brow.

He took a deep breath, and calmed his shaking fists. “I have…to go to the bathroom!” Iwaizumi bellowed. Suddenly he grabbed Watari’s arm and yanked him out of the room. “Watari – show me where the bathroom is.”

Kindaichi frowned. “Um, isn’t this Yahaba’s house, though?”

“Don’t worry, I got it!” Watari called as Iwaizumi dragged him into the hallway. “Wait – do you actually know where the bathroom is – ?”

“No. Where the hell am I going.”

“Next door on your right.”

Iwaizumi practically shoved him in the bathroom and closed the door.

“Watari, I can’t do this. _He's being an ass_.”

“I thought you said you were use to that?”

“Yeah – but – ”

“Just make it through dinner, okay? Everyone else is enjoying your company. And…” Watari decided to use the one weapon at his disposal. “…it’s the last time you’ll ever get to be with them like this.”

Iwaizumi grimaced, but Watari knew he had him. “Fine,” Iwaizumi spat. “But not for him.”

Watari nodded happily, and an awkward silence settled in the small bathroom. Iwaizumi gripped the sink awkwardly, and Watari wondered whether he had something else to say, or –

“Can you, um, leave? I actually do have to go to - ”

Watari walked out of the room before Iwaizumi could finish his sentence. He could only be thankful Iwaizumi was giving it another go, and hope that the next part of the plan would work.

 

Phase Three of the plan: a game of Never Have I Ever.

Once they were all seated around the table with food on their plates, Watari asked causally, “Do you guys want to play a game?”

He nodded discreetly at Kindaichi.

“Uh…yeah!” he said. “How about Never Have I Ever?”

The strategy behind having Kindaichi suggest the game was to ensure that neither Oikawa nor Iwaizumi could refuse. They both had a fondness for the first year, and Watari would take advantage of that.

The rest of the group nodded.

“Sure.”

“That sounds fun.”

“I always win that game.”

“Nuh uh – I beat you last time.”

“Yeah, well, you cheated.”

“How can you cheat at Never Have I Ever?”

“SO – ” Watari interrupted. “It sounds like we all agree. Everyone know the rules? I’ll explain just in case:

“So everyone puts ten fingers up. We go around the room, and one by one, everyone says something they haven’t done before, saying the phrase, “Never have I ever…” For example, “Never have I ever owned a cat.” Then, everyone who has done that thing – in this case, own a cat, puts a finger down. Once you get all ten fingers down, you’re out of the game. Last person with fingers up wins. Got it?”

“Got it!” came the group’s reply.

“Also: I expect COMPLETE HONESTY,” Yabaha added. “What happens in this room, stays in this room, so don’t feel embarrassed about disclosing anything.”

The idea behind Phase Three was more complicated than the other parts. It involved several carefully worded questions and a whole lot of luck. With the direction things were going in, they’d need a miracle for anything good to happen…but Watari was willing to try.

“I’ll start,” he said. He cleared his throat, and couldn’t hold back his triumphant smile as he said, “Never have I ever romantically liked a dude.”

His smile broadened when he saw that every single person had put a finger down. He saw Oikawa eyeing Iwaizumi’s finger with curiosity.

“I’m next,” Hanamaki said. “Never have I ever taken it in the butt.”

Everyone cringed. Yet they all watched with morbid curiosity to see who put a finger down. Matsukawa was the first.

“How vulgar, Makki!” Oikawa exclaimed.

Watari noticed Yahaba elbow Kyoutani sharply. “You too,” he mumbled.

Red faced against everyone else’s stares, Kyoutani put down a finger.

“This was not something I ever wanted to know…” Kunimi muttered.

Next in the circle was Iwaizumi. Watari was a little afraid of what he’d ask. “Never have I ever used hair product.” Iwaizumi directed this toward Oikawa. Grumbling, Yahaba, Kyoutani, and Hanamaki put a finger down too. Watari mirrored Iwaizumi’s smirk.

They continued around the circle, with shouts and giggles and knowledge Watari wanted to erase from memory when he heard it.

“Never have I ever walked in on Matsun and Makki.”

“Never have I ever been caught masturbating.”

“Never have I ever checked Oikawa out.”

“Never have I ever had a condom in my pocket right now.”

“Never have I ever let Oikawa put makeup on me.”

“Never have I ever lost an arm wrestling contest.”

“Never have I ever tried one of Makkis pot brownies.”

“Now _that_ was a great time.”

“Never have I ever been called short.” Yahaba sneered at Watari.

“Rude,” he said, bitterly putting down a finger.

“Well?” Matsukawa prodded Iwaizumi. “We call you short like ten times a day.”

Grunting, Iwaizumi put a finger down as well.

“Never have I ever gone to the gym.”

They all turned to Kunimi in surprise. “We practice in a gym everyday,” Kindaichi said.

Kunimi scoffed. “Never have I ever _voluntarily_ gone to the gym.”

Watari knew he should take his chance soon. He took a deep breath, prayed to any god listening for a bit of luck, and said, “Never have I ever given anyone Valentine's Day chocolates.”

The entire group went silent, pretending not to watch Oikawa put his sixth finger down with a cringe. Iwaizumi watched him, too, his expression darkening.

“Ahem,” Hanamaki cleared his throat, pulling them out of their daze. “Never have I ever received Valentines Day chocolates. Though I wish I had. Looking at you, Matsun.”

They tried to laugh it off, but the awkward silence once again pervaded their game. This time, everyone’s eyes were on Iwaizumi. He frowned and put down a finger. Oikawa looked away guiltily, but there was a hint of anger mixed with his guilt, visible in the slight squint of his eyes.

Suddenly, before Iwaizumi could take his turn, Oikawa squawked, “Never have I ever _not_ received Valentine’s Day chocolates.”

 _Uh oh._ Watari could feel any chance they had for the plan to succeed slipping further and further away with each word Oikawa muttered. This wasn’t how it was suppose to go at all – the comment about the chocolates was suppose to help them reveal their true feelings, not incite another feud. He’d been ignorant to think so mentioning the chocolates could result in anything but more malice.

Watari looked towards Iwaizumi, who stared at Oikawa with a neutral expression on his face, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Maybe he –

“Never have I ever been thankful for the chocolates I received on Valentine’s Day.” The dark look Iwaizumi had been harboring returned, turning his features sharp and scary.

Yahaba, sensing the ensuing chaos, stood up, interceding loudly. “You know what? Maybe we should get off the Valentine’s Day theme…” But it was too late - everyone there could tell. Yahaba had thought that, with the rest of the team present, they wouldn’t fight, but he’s underestimated the setter and his ace.

Iwaizumi jumped to his feet, yelling, “Never have I ever cried during E.T. – ”

“Hey! That’s personal!” Oikawa shouted back, leaping to his feet as well. They each stood their ground at opposite ends of the table, oblivious to their cowering audience beneath their sights. Watari hugged his knees against his chest. _Oh shit…_

“So?” Iwaizumi sneered.

“Fine! You want it that way~?” Oikawa sang. “Never have I ever lied about wetting my bed for years!”

“Never have I ever eaten an entire tub of ice cream out of self pity!”

“Never have I ever punched someone – ”

“Oi! Never have I ever _backed down from defending my friend_ – ”

“Never have I ever distrusted my friend – ”

“Never have I ever made a joke out of my friend’s feelings - ”

“It wasn’t a joke!” Oikawa shouted, exasperated. His cheeks were pink, eyes rimmed with red. His hands formed fists that shook at his side.

Iwaizumi was in a similar state of unrest. His red-tinged eyes were alight with anger, but his trembling lip betrayed him. “Yeah? I remember you laughing.”

“It wasn’t a joke…” Oikawa repeated, his voice absent of passion. His fists stopped shaking, and his gaze dropped remorsefully.

“If it wasn’t a joke, then what the hell was it?”

“I just - ”

“And don’t give me that bullshit about ‘helping’ me! You know me, you know I’ve never cared about fucking appearances before. Just because I never got chocolates before doesn’t mean that I felt bad about myself. It’s only worse that you made me believe something that wasn’t true. You know that - so why’d you do it?” Iwaizumi’s confusion resounded through his final plea.

Oikawa sniffed. “I thought that I was being a good friend, alright?”

“Stop fucking lying, Oikawa!” Iwaizumi shouted, clenching his fists so tight his knuckles turned white. “Please...no more lies. Giving me the chocolates was a lie -  ”

“No, it wasn’t!” Oikawa yelled, fists clenched and eyes scrunched together. “That wasn’t a lie.” There were cracks in his mask, the twitch of his lips, the shake of his hands. Oikawa’s composure slowly crumbled, until he broke.

“I did mean it that way! Iwa-chan I _like_ you, okay? Are you happy now? I’ve been in love with you those whole time and I couldn’t own up to giving you those fucking chocolates because I’m a coward! I - I lied to you because it was too hard to face the truth – to risk _r-rejection_ – and I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry…”

Iwaizumi stood paralyzed. Tears began to leak out of Oikawa’s red-rimmed eyes. And before Iwaizumi could reply, Oikawa took off, rushing away from the table and out the door. Yahaba stood up and ran after him, calling for him to wait up.

Iwaizumi, as still as stone, kept his gaze fixed on the spot where Oikawa had stood.

Watari gulped, and whispered, too afraid to speak to loud, “Iwaizumi…?”

His body went slack, his fists loosening and his face falling. “I – I need to go – ”

“Iwaizumi, wait – !” But before anyone could stop him, Iwaizumi was out the door.

Watari put his head in his hands. After all the work they had put into the party, it ended up as a complete disaster. Yet again, Watari wanted to rescind his efforts spent setting up his teammates. It true, they had accomplished part of their goal – getting Oikawa to admit the real reasoning behind the chocolates, and telling Iwaizumi his feelings – but it was in the midst of a heated fight, and the result negated the whole confession. Iwaizumi hadn’t responded positively – he hadn’t responded at all. And maybe he would have, eventually, if Oikawa hadn’t ran off so suddenly. Now, everything was worse than before. And once again, Watari felt like a shitty friend.

“I told you guys we should have locked them in a closet,” Hanamaki said somberly. The joke seemed liked a last effort to avoid the disaster left in Oikawa’s wake. “They would have been steamily making out right now – _ow_!”

“You deserved that,” Matsukawa said.

“Yeah…I guess I did.”

 

Watari spent all of Sunday wondering what had gone through Iwaizumi’s head when he heard Oikawa’s confession. Wanting to get rid of the nagging thoughts, he went to the gym to try and clear his head.

Watari supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised when his workout was interrupted by none other than Iwaizumi himself.

Iwaizumi smiled weakly, and asked him for advice. It was still strange to Watari that people sought him out for advice – though he couldn’t admit he didn’t like it. It felt nice to be useful.

“Has he really always…did everyone see it but me?”

“Kind of. Yeah.”

“Fuck.” Iwaizumi sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “You would think, as his best friend, I’d be the first to see it, not the last.”

Watari shrugged. “It’s easier to see when it’s not you involved. Trust me, I know that for a fact.”

Iwaizumi smirked. “Yeah, I guess you do.”

“But have you thought about how you feel about him?”

“I just want things to go back to how they were before. I know it can’t, but I just want us to be friends again. I want to be able to talk with him and eat together and go to each other’s houses and fuck, I wouldn’t even mind him teasing me. I just miss _him_. His stupid smirk and his dumb laugh and that stupid face he always makes, with the peace sign and shit. He always know exactly what to do, and he’s so good at reading people, and yeah sometimes he’s manipulative about it…but he really just wants what’s best for everybody, so I can’t get mad at him for that. And I get so worried about him because he beats himself up because he doesn’t think he’s good enough. He can’t see how amazing he really is. That idiot.

“I hate having to worry about him, yeah, but I hate not knowing what's going on with him even more. I hate not being a part of his life.”

Watari smiled. This situation was salvageable, after all. “Having a relationship with him wouldn’t change things that much, you know. You could be everything that you were before, only there’d probably be some more – um, intimacy.”

Iwaizumi’s cheeks turned a deep, ruddy red. “I – I never thought of it like that.”

Watari shrugged. “In the end, it’s up to you. But if it’s any consolation…I think you two would make a great couple.”

Iwaizumi’s blush crept up to his ears. “Thanks. For the advice…and for everything else.”

“Everything…else?” He really hoped Iwaizumi wasn’t talking about the party, because that would mean he knew, and oh god that was embarrassing –

Iwaizumi smirked. “You know what I mean.”

Watari felt his cheeks begin to burn. “Ah – you’re welcome, I guess.” He patted Iwaizumi’s shoulder and stood up. “Um, I’m going to go. But – good luck. With all that.”

“Thanks,” Iwaizumi said. “Honestly, I think I’ll need all the luck I can get…”

“Do you need any help?”

“Nah,” Iwaizumi assured. “I’ve got an idea of where to start.”

 

Watari should have known his lunch would be spoiled again.

Monday afternoon – the first school day after the party – he was dragged away from his beautiful lunch of stir fry and milk break by the one and only Yahaba Shigeru, accompanied by his glowering boyfriend.

“Hurry – we might miss something if we don’t rush!” Yahaba exclaimed as he pulled him towards the gym.

“Miss what?”

“It’s Iwaizumi! Matsun says he asked Oikawa to meet him in the gym at lunch!”

 _Oh. OH._ This must be the idea Iwaizumi was talking about…

“Are we really spying on them?” Watari asked apprehensively. He still felt guilty from spying the first time…well, first few times…

“After everything we did to ensure this would happen, I think we at least deserve to see the fruits of our effort.”

They stopped outside the gym, joining the small crowd that was gathered beside the doors, cracked slightly open. Hanamaki, Matsukawa, Kyoutani, Kunimi, Kindaichi – they were all here.

His brain told him to leave, but his heart couldn’t resist seeing this whole thing through. He bunched up behind the group and peered under Matsukawa’s armpit to get a glimpse of their former ace and captain.

“Iwaizumi – ”

“Don’t call me that. It sounds weird when you say my name like that.”

Through the crack in the doors, he could make out Iwaizumi’s back, and most of Oikawa’s face.

Oikawa’s lips quirked in an almost smile. “What is this about.”

Iwaizumi pulled the white box out from behind his back and presented it to Oikawa. “It’s custom to return a Valentine’s Day gift with a gift of one’s own on White Day.” Iwaizumi shoved the box into Oikawa’s hands, forcing him to take it. Watari couldn’t see the ace’s face, but Watari bet he was blushing.

Oikawa frowned, clutching the cardboard box tightly. “I don’t understand. After the party…”

“I was being rude, then. I’m sorry for my behavior,” Iwaizumi admitted. He took a deep breath. “Oikawa? Do you really…like me? Like that?”

For a moment, he was silent, but then Oikawa forced a laugh, bringing his free hand to his mouth to hide his quivering smile. “Didn’t you hear my whole…outburst…at the party? I meant what I said…Can’t make a joke out of that one, can I?”

Iwaizumi reached out and pulled Oikawa’s twitching hand away from his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Oikawa sighed. “I was afraid I’d lose you.”

“That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth. Oikawa, you know I’d never leave you. Even if you told me you loved me – r-romantically – and I didn’t reciprocate, I still wouldn’t leave you.”

Watari couldn’t hold back a smile at Oikawa’s furrowed brows.

“…w-what do you mean, ‘ _still’_ wouldn’t leave you?”

“I mean - I like you too, Tooru.”

Oikawa’s face went slack. Then, as the realization crept in, his eyes lit up. “Iwa-chan…” he murmured, almost too softly for the rest of them to hear. “Are you – do you really – ”

Iwaizumi swept him up in a bone-crushing him before he could say anything else. The white box fell to the floor with a _thud_. “Of course I mean it. I like you. And…I think I’ve liked you for a long time, too. I just, needed the right push to realize it.”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes in thought, but suddenly, his expression softened. He giggled. Then glanced up and suddenly he made eye contact with Watari. Watari almost jumped out of his skin in shock, prepared for a tirade of yelling for spying on them - but Oikawa just winked. “Right push, huh…” the setter muttered.

Watari stepped back, pulling on the other third year’s blazers. “C’mon,” he whispered. “Let’s leave them be.”

They followed him reluctantly away from the happy – _finally_ – couple.

 

 

_EPILOGUE_

 

Watari knows April is just around the corner, but it doesn’t hit him until the graduation ceremony.

It comes in a flurry of cherry blossoms and a sea of plaid pants. Graduation - when each person moves up to the next grade, feeling a little older, bearing a little more responsibility. And the third years will no longer be third years, but full-fledged adults.

At the end of the ceremony, the students mingle among themselves, saying goodbyes - their final goodbyes, in many cases.

He sees Matsukawa and Hanamaki talking amiably with the other third years, their hands clasped together. They laugh at something Matsukawa says. After this, Matsukawa will start working for his parents’ business, which he’ll inherit one day. Hanamaki will attend the local college and study culinary arts - specializing in pastries. They plan to share an apartment while Hanamaki attends school.

After Matsukawa's epiphany in the beginning of the year - which he still gives Watari some credit for - the two have been inseparable. Watari's happy they found a way to still be together after graduation. 

In the other direction, he sees Yahaba bickering with Kyoutani. Kyoutani interrupts Yahaba's rant and adjusts his tie, causing him to blush. Kyoutani laughs at him, and Yahaba, affronted, pecks him on the cheek. Now Kyoutani's the flustered one.

Another couple who has grown happier by being together. Watari laughs, thinking how ironic it is that the two members of the volleyball team who hated each other the most became the most affectionate couple. Yahaba will make a good captain next year, and with Kyoutani as his vice captain, he knows next year's team will be strong. Their relationship will strengthen their bond as ace and setter; next year, they’ll be unstoppable.

He sees Kindaichi by the gates, Kunimi leaning lazily on his shoulder. Watari can only imagine what next year holds for them. He knows that, with enough work, they'll grow strong enough to defeat Kageyama. Although Watari has nothing against Kageyama, he does want to defeat Karasuno - and he will work hard enough to carry his team through.

Getting together with Kunimi had been a good thing for Kindaichi. He no longer follows Iwaizumi around like a dog, and he genuinely seems happier and brighter - or at least, as bright as his personality allows. Watari is glad for this change, and looks forward to see his and Kunimi’s growth next year.

He feels a tap on his shoulder, and turns around. Iwaizumi and Oikawa stand smiling in front of him. They’re both going to universities in Tokyo – Oikawa studying astrophysics, and Iwaizumi studying business. And it turns out that their universities are only ten minutes apart, so they, too, will share an apartment. When he first heard, he felt a streak of pride, knowing that he helped this version of their future come to fruition.

He smiles back at them, and pulls them into a hug.

“Aw, so affectionate, Watacchi!” Oikawa says.

“Thank you guys so much for this year,” he says, and lets them go.

Iwaizumi pats him on the shoulder. “Of course. And thank you, for - you know, helping us figure out...this.” Iwaizumi gestures vaguely to the space between Oikawa and him.

Oikawa scoffs, “No need to sugarcoat it,” and yanks Iwaizumi’s arm down, pulling him into a smooch.

“Er…” Feeling vaguely uncomfortable, Watari begins to retreat, but suddenly Matsukawa and Hanamaki corner him from behind, dragging Kindaichi and Kunimi with them.

“I think we all need to thank you, actually,” Matsukawa says, nudging the first years - second years, now - with his elbow.

“Yeah - we never really did get the chance, so...thank you,” Kindaichi says. Watari feels a little guilty and undeserving of his gratitude, since he doesn’t feel he really did enough to warrant thanks in their case...

“Stop feeling guilty.” Watari nearly jumps at Kunimi’s remark. _Is he reading my mind of something?_  “It’s annoying. You did what you thought was best for us, and in the end it ended up alright.”

Kindaichi smiles bashfully. “Better than alright.”

Just then, Yahaba and Kyoutani appear at Watari’s other side. “What’s going here? Why weren’t Kyoutani and I invited?”

“We’re thanking Watari for his good deeds.”

“Oh - well, I already thanked him.”

Watari clicks his tongue. “True, but there’s no such thing as too much thanks.”

Suddenly there’s a hand on his shoulder, but it’s not Yahaba’s – it’s Kyoutani’s.

“Thank you,” Kyoutani said sincerely. “I – we – really appreciate what you did. To help us figure out our…differences, and stuff. Before that match, I couldn’t imagine being in the same room with him for too long, let alone _dating_ him - "

Yahaba pouts.

“ – but I’m glad we are now,” Kyoutani continues. Yahaba drops his pout, his cheeks flushing pink. “So…thanks,” he finishes.

Oikawa wipes a fake tear from his eyes. “That was the most heartfelt thing I’ve ever heard you say, Kyouken-chan.”

“Shut up.”

Watari pats his shoulder back. “You’re welcome, man.” 

“So, Watari,” Matsukawa says, wrapping his arm around Watari’s shoulders. “You’ve hooked up basically every member on the team. Yet, you are still a single weedling.”

“Weedling?”

“You know, Aoba Joshai...plants…”

“Oh.”

“The point is, lonely weedling,” Hanamaki interrupts, “are there any girls you have an eye on? It is our duty to help our dedicated matchmaker if he wishes to pursue any interests of his own.”

With all the couples surrounding him, Watari supposes should feel ostracized, like he doesn’t quite belong. But he simply feels happy to be around his teammates - his friends - one last time. Even if they were broken off into sets, they are just as much his friends as they always were. He’s always been satisfied with just that.

 _I hope they can understand that,_ he thinks as he says, “Actually, I’m ace.”

“Huh? No,” Kyoutani interrupts, looking disgruntled. “I’m the ace. A libero can’t be the ace…”

Yahaba tries - and fails - to suppress a giggle. “He means asexual, Kyoutani.”

Kyoutani’s cheeks turn pink. “Oh...um…”

Watari smiles, and clarifies, “That means I don’t experience sexual attraction. I actually don't experience romantic attraction, either. At least, I think.”

“Wait. Are you telling me that Seijoh’s greatest matchmaker...doesn’t even want a relationship? Have you ever been in one before?” Hanamaki says.

Watari smirks. “Nope. And I don’t plan to be. I think.” He knew at some point the topic would come up, and although he anticipated an amount of awkwardness, the confused, shocked looks on their faces are hilarious. He bites back a laugh. “Besides. I have enough relationship drama in my life already - thanks to you guys.”

Kindaichi frowns. “That won’t last for much longer, though…”

Watari couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. Kindaichi’s right: it’s probably the last time he'll see his teammates all together - this year’s team, at least. Nationals had only been a hairsbreadth away - they had been so close to making it.

Yet Watari felt no regrets. They'd done amazing things as a team, and despite the harsh, demanding practices, Watari had enjoyed this year like no other. Even though they never made it to Nationals, Watari felt this was the best team he'd ever played on. He'll be sad to see the third years go, sad that that was the last time he'd ever play with this team.

Watari notices that they’ve unconsciously settled into a their usual huddle.

 _I'm going to miss this team,_ he thinks, his eyes beginning to water. 

“Why’re you all so sad looking?” Oikawa bursts suddenly. They all look up at their former captain. “We should be out celebrating! We’ve just graduated! Stop it with those sad puppy eyes, all of you – let’s go do something. I know! I’m hungry! Let’s go and eat together…for old time’s sake, okay~?”

Watari knows he’s just putting on a façade – he has to be at least as sad as the rest of them – but he appreciates Oikawa’s strength.

Everyone else looks a little brighter at Oikawa’s suggestion. Then Matsukawa says, “Only if you’re paying.”

“What? No - !”

“Thanks for paying, Oikawa!”

“You’re the best senpai we could ask for!”

“I’m not paying! My poor wallet can’t take it…”

Everyone argues about where to go, and Oikawa insists he’s not actually going paying for everyone (Watari knows he’ll cave in later), and it feels like home. They settle on a restaurant, and, Yahaba at his side, Kyoutani at the other, Watari follows the group to their chosen destination.

For the last time, they walk away as a team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #letwatarieatlunch2k16
> 
> (is aoba josai represented by plants? sometimes i see it that way and sometimes their castles so idk anymore)
> 
> this accidentally became crack in the middle and then it got emotional towards the end? i'm sorry, i'm just not over seijoh yet...(please talk to me about seijoh my tumblr is [here](http://satyr-syd.tumblr.com) )
> 
>  **EDIT:** this is now a series, which will feature other POVs from this story line and maybe some other stuff too if you all are lucky ʘ‿ʘ
> 
>  
> 
> **BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY thank you guys all so much for your kind and supportive comments!! honestly i could not have done this without your guys' support, so thank you!!**

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos always appreciated! 
> 
> hmu on [tumblr](http://satyrsyd37.tumblr.com/) if you feel like it


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